Billy Butler has seemingly come out of nowhere to be the A’s hottest hitter.
The prize free agent plucked from Kansas City two winters ago struggled in his first year with Oakland, hitting 40 points under his career batting average, just .251, with just 15 homers.
It wasn’t want he or the A’s were looking for after agreeing on a three-year, $30 million deal designed to give the A’s more right-handed oomph.
Things got so bad in the first month of this season that Butler became relegated to being a part-time player, starting against left-handed pitchers but having to check the lineup card every day to see if he might be getting a start against a right-hander.