Outfielder Lawrence Butler agrees to $65.5 million, 7-year deal with A's, AP source says

Outfielder Lawrence Butler agreed to a $65.5 million, seven-year contract with the Athletics, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said Thursday night, the latest big-money deal for a team suddenly spending as it prepares to play three seasons in a minor league ballpark.

The agreement, first reported by ESPN, includes a team option for 2032 that could make the contract worth $81.5 million and escalators that could increase the value to $87.5 million. The deal was subject to a successful physical, the person said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract hasn’t been completed.

Butler gets a $3 million signing bonus, payable $1 million within 30 days' of the contract's approval by the commissioner's office, $1 million next Jan. 15 and $1 million on Jan. 15, 2027.

He gets salaries of $2.25 million this year, $3.25 million in 2026, $5 million in 2027, $8 million in 2028, $10 million in 2029, $14 million in 2030 and $16 million in 2031. The team option is for $20 million with a $4 million buyout, and the price can increase by a maximum of $6 million based on MVP voting: $1 million for each top six-10 finish from 2029-31 and $2 million for each top five finish in those years.

Buter's deal is the second-highest guarantee for a position player with 1-2 years of major league service, trailing third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes's $70 million, eight-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates announced in April 2022.

A 24-year-old who was a sixth-round pick in the 2018 amateur draft, Butler entered last season with just 53 days of major league service.

Butler was on Oakland's opening-day roster but then got demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas on May 14 after hitting .179 with seven RBIs in his first 41 games.

He was recalled on June 18 and batted .291 over the rest of the season, finishing with a .262 average, 22 home runs and 18 stolen bases.

Butler earned $627,000 last season under a split contract that paid at a rate of the $740,000 minimum while in the major leagues and $121,826 while in the minors. He was on track to be eligible for salary arbitration after the 2026 season and for free agency following the 2029 World Series.

After finishing with the lowest payroll in the major leagues for three straight seasons, the A's have become a big-spender heading into the 2025 campaign, the first of at least three in West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park. In addition to Butler, they signed designated hitter/outfielder Brent Rooker to a $60 million, five-year contract and right-hander Luis Severino to a team-record $67 million, three-year deal.

For the first time since the current collective bargaining agreement began in 2022, the A’s are to receive 100% of the amount due under the revenue sharing formula. If a team’s luxury tax payroll is not at least 150% of what it receives in revenue sharing, the burden of proof in a grievance alleging violation of revenue sharing rules would shift to the club from the players’ association.

Earlier Thursday, the club announced Marc Badain as new team president.

There could be additional details from the A's on Friday when the club takes part in a news conference in Las Vegas, where team officials are aiming to break ground on their ballpark this spring.

AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson contributed to this report.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

Athletics' Lawrence Butler reacts after hitting a single against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning of a spring training baseball game Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, in Surprise, Ariz. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Athletics' Lawrence Butler, right, is tagged out trying to steal second base by Kansas City Royals shortstop Cam Devanney in the first inning during a spring training baseball game Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, in Surprise, Ariz. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Athletics right fielder Lawrence Butler shouts runs to catch a fly ball hit by Cincinnati Reds' Jeimer Candelario during the second inning of a spring training baseball game, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Athletics' Lawrence Butler, left, celebrates after his three-run home run with Jacob Wilson (5) during the second inning of a spring training baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)