Butler is out of the lineup Saturday against the Red Sox.

Butler appears to have lost a grip on the designated hitter spot for the Royals, now sitting for the sixth time in the past eight games. While he and Josh Willingham are still the top two candidates for the DH spot, Norichika Aoki will get a day off from the field and serve in that spot Saturday with Lorenzo Cain in right field and Jarrod Dyson in center.

Butler is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Tigers, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports.

Despite his strong career numbers against opposing starter Rick Porcello (16-for-47, .340 average), Butler will find himself on the bench for the fourth time in five games. However, given Butler's steep regression at the plate overall this season -- including an ongoing 1-for-21 skid -- have improbably put his standing as the team's regular designated hitter in question. Unless he suddenly rediscovers the sweet swing that netted him 32 doubles and 29 homers just two seasons ago, Butler may be forced to share time with Josh Willingham the rest of the way.

Butler is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Tigers, according to Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star.

Butler went 0-for-4 Monday and has just one hit since Aug. 29, so manager Ned Yost decided to give him the day off Tuesday. Josh Willingham will serve as the Royals' DH in Butler's place.

Butler is out of the lineup Sunday against the Yankees.

Butler's lukewarm production of late will result in his removal from the lineup for the second consecutive day, with Josh Willingham manning the DH spot. While Butler's track record should allow him to reclaim primary duties at the position sooner or later, the Royals may exercise less patience with him while they look to trot out their best lineup day in and day out. He's batting .270 with a meager nine homers and 58 RBI on the season.

Butler is out of the lineup Saturday against the Yankees.

Josh Willingham will get the start at DH and Eric Hosmer will play first base Saturday. With everyone healthy, and the late-season acquisition of Willingham, manager Ned Yost is able to sit Butler more often than every before, to the chagrin of his fantasy owners.

Butler isn't in the lineup Monday against the Rangers, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports.

With Eric Hosmer back in the fold after nearly a month on the disabled list, Butler will hit the pine, at least for a day, while Raul Ibanez covers designated hitter. In the previous nine outings, Butler displayed power but little consistency at the plate, batting .206 (7-for-34) with two homers, five RBI, three runs, and two walks versus seven strikeouts.

Butler hit a solo home run in Sunday's loss to the Rangers.

Butler accounted for all his team's offense, as Scott Baker and the Texas bullpen combined to hold the Royals to six hits. Butler, slashing .277/.326/.391 on the year, has now homered in two of his last three games.

Butler was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI in Kansas City's win over the Giants on Friday night.

Maybe he likes August - when the calendar turned, he turned it on - or maybe he likes playing first base - with Eric Hosmer back on the disabled list, he's been doing some of that too. Whatever the case may be, following a lackluster four months, Butler has become energized the past week or so, and is now hitting .279 with seven home runs and 47 RBI.

Butler went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run, two runs scored, and three RBI in Tuesday's win over the Diamondbacks.

He's now gone 7-for-9 over the past two games. Butler helped ignite an eight-run fifth inning by launching a three-run shot, his sixth of the year. It hasn't been a good year for Butler, but he has been picking it up as of late. He's 14-for-35 with three home runs and eight RBI over his past 10 games.

Butler is out of the Royals' lineup Thursday against the Twins.

Butler has posted decent numbers against Twins starter Kevin Correia (6-for-20), but Raul Ibanez's are even better (6-for-14 with a homer), so manager Ned Yost will put the DH tag on Ibanez on Thursday in the series finale against Minnesota.

Billy Butler had a three-hit afternoon against the Indians on Sunday, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the loss.

Since Royals manager Ned Yost called Butler out on Thursday, the designated hitter has responded by collecting six hits in nine at-bats with two home runs, five RBI and three runs scored. In Sunday's game, Butler scored the first run of the game and later delivered an RBI double in the sixth inning. His recent onslaught has raised his line to .273/.326/.370 and may give Yost second thoughts about taking playing time away from the talented 28-year-old.

Billy Butler homered for the second consecutive night as the Royals beat the Indians 7-5 on Saturday.

Butler's two-run fifth-inning blast put Kansas City ahead for good. He also hit a big go-ahead two-run homer on Friday and may be starting to come alive for the Royals, who badly need such a burst. The 28-year-old designated hitter owns a disappointing .268/.322/.363 slash line and only five total homers this year.

Billy Butler hit a pinch-hit go-ahead two-run homer in a 6-4 win over the Indians on Friday night.

The clutch blast came with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. It was just his fourth home run of the season. While the 28-year-old played the role of hero for the Royals on this night, he's been one of the game's most disappointing players with a weak .266/.320/.353 batting line.

Royals manager Ned Yost said Thursday that Billy Butler will lose playing time in the designated hitter spot in the coming days.

It's probably overdue, as Butler has struggled mightily with a .266/.321/.346 batting line and three homers this season and has hit just .234/.286/.313 this month. The 28-year-old is probably droppable in most mixed leagues at this point. Danny Valencia and Raul Ibanez will pick up the extra at-bats in the DH spot.

Billy Butler said Monday that he would be willing to renegotiate his contract, which currently includes a $12.5 million club option for 2015.

The Royals seem unlikely to exercise the option given Butler's struggles this season, but the designated hitter is willing to redo his deal in order to remain in Kansas City. He's making $8 million this season. "If the option doesn't work, I'd be more than happy to renegotiate in any type of way. I've always said that," Butler said. "I've been with the Royals for my whole career so why wouldn't I? It's all I've ever known and I love it here. I never said anything about, 'Oh, it's my option year, take it or leave it.'"

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that the Mariners have talked to the Royals about a possible trade for Billy Butler.

The Mariners are looking far and wide for a bat, but they'd be buying low on Butler. While he has shown some signs of life since early June, he has hit just three home runs through 93 games this season. The Mariners have also reportedly showed interest in Phillies outfielder Marlon Byrd.

Billy Butler went 2-for-4 with a three-run double Monday versus the Tigers.

Butler has 10 hits and 10 RBI in his last six games, and he's batting .367 over his last 17 games. More homers would be nice, though he did finally hit his second on Saturday, but at least he is hitting again.

Billy Butler went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, a walk, and two runs scored in Saturday's win over the White Sox.

It was his second home run of the season and his first since May 2. Butler is 7-for-16 (.438) with seven RBI over his last four games, so perhaps he's finally coming out of his season-long slumber.

Billy Butler had a two-run single and finished 2-for-4 in Tuesday's win over the Indians.

Butler had two singles in his four at-bats, bringing his line up to .253/.303/.319. He's still sorely lacking in the power department, though -- Butler is stuck on one home run, which he hit on May 2, and the two runs batted in gave him 23 RBI on the year. It's not fun owning virtually any of the Royals for fantasy purposes these days.

Billy Butler went 1-for-3 with three runs scored in a loss to the White Sox on Tuesday.

Butler walked twice and doubled, coming around to score all three times he was on base in the game. Country Breakfast is now 7-for-12 with two doubles and six runs scored in his last three games. He's been unable to find any consistent success at the plate thus far this season, but his recent performance has his line up to .253/.311/.321. We may be seeing Butler awake from his offensive slumber at long last.