Athletics Agree to Contract With Outfielder Seth Brown, Avoiding Arbitration

Seth Brown was at risk of falling out of favor in Oakland this past season, but a second-half resurgence helped the slugger score another contract with the Athletics.

Sep 29, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Oakland Athletics right fielder Seth Brown (15) points to the fans after hitting a double against the Seattle Mariners during the ninth inning at T-Mobile Park. / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The Athletics have signed outfielder Seth Brown to a one-year contract, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.

In doing so, the two sides avoided going to arbitration. The deadline was not until Jan. 10, so they worked things out with plenty of time to spare.

Brown and the A's avoided arbitration last winter as well, settling on a one-year, $2.6 million contract. It remains to be seen what figure they agreed upon on for 2025.

The deal comes in the wake of Brown's least effective season so far in his big league career. He hit just .231 with 14 home runs, 44 RBI, four stolen bases, a .662 OPS and a -0.6 WAR across 124 games.

Brown was even placed on outright waivers and sent down to Triple-A in June, at which point he was batting .189 with a .557 OPS.

Over the next few weeks, Brown hit .403 with an 1.152 OPS as a member of the Las Vegas Aviators. The minor league resurgence was sign of things to come for Brown, who returned to the active roster in July and proceeded to hit. 271 with a .760 OPS from then on out.

Brown's second-half surge wasn't his first taste of big league success, though. In the 261 games he appeared in between 2021 and 2022, Brown racked up 45 home runs, 121 RBI, 15 stolen bases and a 3.3 WAR, boasting a .751 OPS along the way.

On defense, the 32-year-old has shown enough versatility to man all three outfield spots, as well as first base.

Unfortunately for Brown, the Athletics aren't scheduled to move into their new stadium in Las Vegas – the city where his bat came back to life – until 2028. Instead, the A's will call Sacramento home for the next three years.

Between Brown, Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday, Shea Langeliers and Zack Gelof, the core of the Athletics' lineup may have come into focus down the stretch in 2024. That makes for at least one bright spot for the nomadic franchise, which is expected to have one of the smallest payrolls in baseball yet again in 2025.

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