Billy Butler appears to be a hitter in severe deterioration, so why would the Oakland Athletics sign the designated hitter to a three-year, $30 million contract?
1. Yes, Butler's wOBA has slid from a career-high .377 in 2012, when he mashed 29 home runs, to .345 in 2013 to .311 in 2014, when he hit .271/.323/.379 with just nine home runs. But Butler turns 29 in April, so he's young enough to turn things around. The Steamer projection system has him hitting .277/.347/.426 with 17 home runs in 2015.
2. Oakland DHs -- there were 13 of them in 2014 -- hit a combined .215/.288/.344, the second-worst wOBA among DHs in the American League, ahead of only Seattle.
3. The A's hit just .239 against left-handers, the lowest in the AL, and ranked 13th in wOBA. Butler still hit .321/.387/.460 against lefties in 2014, so he's a middle-of-the-order bat against southpaws.
4. With Butler at DH, the A's can now mix and match at first base with Brandon Moss, Stephen Vogt, Kyle Blanks and Nate Freiman, or, more likely, make Moss the regular left fielder alongside Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick in the outfield, with Craig Gentry serving as the backup.
5. The price was right at $10 million per season. I was a little surprised Butler got a three-year deal, but he's not old and despite the bad body, he's been durable, playing 150-plus games every full season of his career. The A's have made a point to try to find players in that peak 26-30 age range. Butler fits into that range.
6. None of the other possible DH guys out there were good fits: Nelson Cruz will be too expensive, Kendrys Morales isn't good from the right side, Michael Morse is injury-prone, Torii Hunter is old.
7. It's a small factor, but you keep Butler away from a division rival in Seattle, which also needs a DH and right-handed hitter.
There's no guarantee this works out and you hate to pay even $10 million for a player who may not be much better than replacement level. Butler's power may be a thing of the past, he's slow, he grounds into too many double plays and while he can fill in at first base, he's mostly limited to DH. But if his bat rebounds just a bit he can help the A's.
