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Billy Butler Picked Up By Oakland A's For $30 Million

Keith Allison
/
Flickr-CC

The Oakland Athletics confirmed Wednesday that Billy Butler will play for the team starting in 2015.

Despite showing a desire to remain a Kansas City Royal, Butler's $12.5 million option for 2015 was too much for Royals managers.

Oakland approached Butler with a three-year, $30 million contract and $5 million signing bonus.

Some had mixed emotions about seeing Butler leave the only professional team for which he's played. Dean Tangeman posted this response on Twitter:

For others, it seems to make sense that Butler would go to a new club where he can have a fresh start. Twitter user "Royals Magic Number" had this to say:

Max Rieper, editor of Royals Review, hopes that the Royals will look for a more versatile player to fill the position.

"As a fan, your heart wants Billy to stay," Rieper said. "My guess is that [the Royals] pursue someone who can play the field a little bit and also be a DH."

Butler hit just nine home runs in 2014, and his weighted on-base average dropped to a three-year low of .311.

Cody Newill is part of KCUR's audience development team. Follow him on Twitter @CodyNewill or email him at cody@kcur.org.
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