Lawrence Butler is Finally Playing His Best Baseball

Butler’s offensive resurgence has also helped the A’s play spoiler. They have won four of their last six series, all against playoff hopefuls: the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, and Minnesota Twins.

At one point, Butler’s woes at the plate reached a stage where an option to the minor leagues may have been best. Instead, the Athletics kept the 26-year-old in the majors, and that decision has paid off.

His bounce-back is a major bright spot for an A’s team that has endured a brutal 15-43 stretch since June 20.

For much of 2026, Butler was statistically one of the worst hitters in baseball. His batting average sat at a shocking .158 on June 6, and he was hitting below the Mendoza Line at .196 with just five home runs and 22 RBI over 88 games entering the All-Star break.

Butler looked as far away from his 2024 breakout self as possible, when he hit 22 home runs and sported an .807 OPS over 125 games.

Yet even with Butler struggling mightily, the Athletics‘ offense remained one of MLB‘s best through the middle of June. Through June 19, they ranked ninth in runs scored (357), third in home runs (104), eighth in batting average (.251), seventh in on-base percentage (.331), and third in slugging (.424).

However, since the A’s sat at 38-38 entering play on June 20, their offense has scored 228 runs, the sixth fewest in baseball during that span.

Injuries have been a primary reason for that regression. Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, Jacob Wilson, Shea Langeliers, and Brent Rooker have all missed significant time and will not return this season.

That long list of absences has only further magnified the spotlight on Butler. But instead of continuing to struggle, he has responded with his best stretch of baseball this season.

If Butler can play like this with a fully healthy Athletics lineup performing like it did earlier this season, the A’s could become a serious contender in the American League West moving forward.

The Athletics will look to play spoiler again when they open a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday at 9:40 p.m. ET.