by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s Billy Butler hits a sacrifice fly for an RBI off the Boston Red Sox in this Sep 2nd photo is now without a team

Oakland, Ca- The Oakland A’s have announced that they have released Designated Hitter, Billy Butler. The club still owes him 11.67 million dollars on his contract. The move signals that the A’s are in total rebuild mode. Look for other moves later after the season ends.

There has been speculation that the clubhouse altercation with Danny Valencia in August was a factor in the decision, but Butler remarked that it was a non-issue. Butler had a poor year in 2015 hitting just .251. He had 15 homers and 66 RBIs. This year, Butler was used primarily against left-handed pitchers. His average was .276, and he had just four dingers and 31 ribbies on his stat sheet this year.

Many people were shocked last year when the A’s signed Butler to a three-year, thirty million dollar deal last year. He numbers were on the downside in Kansas City and for a team with limited resources as the A’s,  the news of his signing was shocking. They made a mistake, and now they have to take their lumps as Butler is no longer a member of the A’s.