Athletics release Piscotty, select top prospect Langeliers
The Oakland Athletics announced Tuesday that they released struggling outfielder Stephen Piscotty.
Catching prospect Shea Langeliers was selected to the major-league roster in a corresponding move.
Piscotty, an Oakland-area native, spent the last five seasons with his hometown team. But outside of a solid 2018 campaign, he failed to live up to expectations, struggling at the plate while battling a myriad of injuries over the last four years. He only got into 42 games for the A's in 2022 while hitting a career-worst .190/.252/.341, and he hit just 15 total homers over the last three seasons.
The 31-year-old is earning $7.25 million in 2022, the final guaranteed season of a six-year, $33.5-million deal he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Oakland held a $15-million club option in 2023 that will presumably be bought out for $1 million.
Langeliers, ranked as the A's top prospect and 28th overall by MLB.com, was acquired from the Atlanta Braves this past spring as part of the Matt Olson trade. The 24-year-old has enjoyed a solid season at Triple-A Las Vegas, hitting .283/.366/.510 with 19 homers and 56 RBIs across 402 plate appearances. Defensively, he's thrown out 24 runners stealing.
In the majors, he'll back up starting catcher Sean Murphy while also getting some at-bats at designated hitter, general manager David Forst said, according to Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. Murphy has been the lowly Atheltics' best hitter this season.
The A's also announced outfielder Ramon Laureano was placed on the injured list. Infielder David MacKinnon was recalled from Las Vegas in a corresponding move.