Report: Athletics to acquire Piscotty from Cardinals
The Oakland Athletics got their guy.
The club has reached an agreement to acquire outfielder Stephen Piscotty from the St. Louis Cardinals for two prospects, sources confirmed to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.
Although a deal was apparently agreed to late Wednesday, the transaction's reportedly been held up for unknown reasons, and the teams were still trying to restructure the Cardinals' return Thursday, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Both Oakland and St. Louis still expect to complete the trade, according to Heyman.
According to Slusser, the Cardinals are reportedly interested in a pair of Oakland prospects who aren't on the 40-man roster: infielder/outfielder Yairo Munoz, and second baseman Max Schrock.
Piscotty became expendable for St. Louis after the team acquired fellow outfielder Marcell Ozuna from the Miami Marlins. Shortly after the Ozuna trade was finalized, talks between the Cardinals and Athletics intensified, leading to a deal.
With the deal, Piscotty - a California native - can be closer to his mother, who was diagnosed with ALS in May. Piscotty missed five games this season after the Cardinals granted him a leave of absence to tend to his mother.
The Athletics have been in the market for an outfielder and have expressed interest in moving Khris Davis - a below-average defensive player - to be the team's designated hitter. Piscotty, though more familiar with right field, has experience playing in left, and with outfielder Matt Joyce under contract for 2018, barring another trade, it would appear Piscotty is destined to play the opposite side.
The 26-year-old is coming off an injury-plagued campaign that resulted in a down year. After hitting a solid .273/.343/.457 (116 wRC+) in 2016, Piscotty finished the season hitting .235/.342/.367 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs in only 107 games.
The young outfielder signed a six-year, $33.75-million extension with the Cardinals last November, a deal that includes a $15-million team option in 2023.