A’s-Lawrence Butler contract extension offers Reds blueprint for aspiring star

The Athletics have been doing things a little differently this offseason. After fleeing Oakland last year and setting up shop in Sacramento with their eye on permanent home in Las Vegas, the A's have suddenly become big spenders this winter.

The A's surprised almost everyone after adding free agent pitcher Luis Severino and extending slugger Brent Rooker earlier this offseason. The Athletics did one better on Thursday night and signed breakout star Lawrence Butler to a contract extension. After playing in just 42 games during the 2023 season, Butler became a household name throughout baseball last year after hitting .262/.317/.490 with 22 home runs and 57 RBI and had a strong surge at the tailend of 2024.

The Cincinnati Reds have been active this offseason, but have failed to retain any of their own long-term. Many fans assumed that Tyler Stephenson would be a prime candidate to receive a new deal after improving both at the plate and behind it in 2024. Reds fans would love to see Elly De La Cruz inked to a mega-deal sometime in the near future, but his agent Scott Boras will have none of that.

A’s-Lawrence Butler contract extension offers Reds blueprint for Matt McLain

However, another Boras client might be more inclined to sign a long-term deal if offered. Matt McLain, who was sidelined all last season due to injury, offers some similarities to Butler. The Reds could use the Butler deal as a blueprint to keep McLain in Cincinnati for quite some time, but the former first-round pick would have to be amenable to that type of conversation.

Butler's seven-year, $65.5 million extension includes a team-option for 2032. So essentially what the A's did was buy out all of Butler's pre-arb and arbitration years, plus two (and possibly three) more, allowing him to reach free agency as early as his age 31 season. Butler's deal comes on the heels of the A's inking Rooker to a five-year, $60 million pact.

It's well past time for the Reds to follow the A's example. Cincinnati has drug their feet (outside of the contract extension to Hunter Greene in 2023), and the Reds are in danger of missing out on sustained success if they don't lock up these young players early. Cincinnati does not have the stomach, nor the resources, to compete with the big dogs in free agency. If players like De La Cruz or McLain ever reach the open market, they're as good as gone.

Of course, there is risk attached to these long-term deals. What if McLain turns out to be as injury-prone as Nick Senzel? All of the sudden, a six or seven-year contract looks like a disaster. But that's the type of gamble the Reds must be willing to take in order to compete and find sustained success.

Outside of Greene, the Reds have not offered a meaningful extension to a player since signing Eugenio Suárez to a six-year, $66 million deal in 2018. It's time for the Reds to put up or shut up. Getting McLain signed up for the long haul would be a good place to start.

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