A's Outfielder Says He's Ready to Play For the Falcons After Offseason Bulk-Up
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The Atlanta Falcons finished with an 8-9 record in 2025, technically tied for first with the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but tiebreakers dropped Atlanta to third in the division, while their win against the New Orleans Saints in the final week also propelled Carolina to a division crown.
A's outfielder Lawrence Butler, who notably represents Atlanta proudly, has also noticeably bulked up over the offseason. When asked about his new physique on A's Cast, he said he's ready for the gridiron.
"Yeah, I'm definitely coming downfield and filling up that A gap. The Falcons weren't that good this year, so if they need somebody, I'm the guy. If you need me for a deep post, coming off the edge, playing cover three, it don't matter. I can get the job done."
Butler on his recovery process this spring
Butler also mentioned that because of his off-season surgery, all he has been able to do this winter is just lift, which is why he has bulked up. When asked about the surgically repaired knee, he said, "it feels good. I've been doing a lot of rehab work with the trainers and the medical team over here.
"I came down here earlier than normal and it's been going pretty good."
Last season Butler struggled a bit, compared to the torrid pace he put up in the second half of the 2024 campaign that landed him a contract extension with the club. He still managed to hit 21 homers and swipe 22 bags, becoming the first 20-20 player for the A's since Coco Crisp in 2013. He ended up hitting .231 with a .306 OBP and a .710 OPS on the year.
After the season ended, A's GM David Forst announced that Butler would need to undergo surgery to repair a patellar tendon strain in his right knee. He'd been dealing with it at the end of the season, and it made him a little more apprehensive when it came to swiping bases.
He told MLB.com recently, "There were a lot of times where I wanted to steal [a base], but I just wanted to finish the game and not do anything major to [the knee], so I would just stay at first."
A's manager Mark Kotsay also mentioned late last week that Butler's timeline for getting into spring games is roughly the mid-way point of the spring, which is still a couple of weeks into the future.
For now, the plan is to slow play him getting into games so that he doesn't suffer a setback and have to miss the beginning of the regular season. If needed, Kotsay says the team can use him on the backfields to get some playing time and some at-bats, where he doesn't have to run the bases and it's an environment that is more controllable than a spring game.
Butler re-breakout incoming?
The A's outfielder has also mentioned this spring that he wants to be more consistent with the mental side of his game, being more even keeled and less fixated on each and every at-bat's outcome once it's over. That switch in the mental game, plus a more physically healthy body could lead to more positive results in 2026.
If Butler is more in line with the player he was back in the latter half of 2024, the A's already solid offensive group would be getting another big piece of the lineup inserted on a daily basis. Towards the end of that season, Butler was the one hitting first in the A's lineup in order to get him more at-bats.
Now that role seems to belong to either Shea Langeliers or Nick Kurtz, based off of their hot second halves in 2025, though batting leadoff was Butler's role at the beginning of 2025. He would be a great fit in the leadoff spot again, if his bat comes back, given that he also brings speed to the lineup and can put some pressure on the opposing pitcher.
The goal of this club is to make it to the postseason in 2026. A healthy and productive Lawrence Butler could go a long way to helping the Athletics achieve their goal.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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