Stephen Piscotty has been traded by the Cardinals to the Oakland A's, which will allow him to closer to his mother who was diagnosed with ALS.
Media: Sports IllustratedLAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — As the winter meetings were coming to a close and team executives began leaving Orlando, the A’s finally got the right-handed-hitting outfielder they had targeted.
Oakland landed former Stanford outfielder Stephen Piscotty from St. Louis in exchange for minor-league rs Yairo Muñoz (an infielder/outfielder) and Max Schrock (a second baseman), a deal first reported by The Chronicle on Wednesday night.
Piscotty is from Pleasanton and his mother, Gretchen, was diagnosed with ALS this year; the Cardinals had made it clear that if they could send Piscotty to the Bay Area, they would try to do so.
“I like this deal for Oakland,” one American League scout said. “I think Piscotty will really benefit from being back in the Bay Area and with his family; I think his mom’s situation was a major reason he had a down season last year.”
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Piscotty hit .273 with 22 homers and 85 RBIs in 2016 but regressed to .235 with nine HRs and 39 RBIs in 2017. Along with dealing with a difficult family situation, he also had some injuries, including a back issue.
“Watching him play last year, he looked a little distracted,” one National League scout said. “You have to be sensitive to what the guy is going through, that’s the reality. I’ve liked the guy for a long time and I think him going home will be good for him, really the best possible thing. He’s a much better player than he showed last year.”
The players involved underwent physicals Thursday morning; general manager David Forst said before leaving the winter meetings that deals sometimes take longer to come together than media reports might suggest in the frenzied atmosphere of the meetings.
“This is just how these things work,” Forst said. “They don’t get done right away. This is the normal course of trade talks. Every year, we talk about things get thrown out of whack by being in this (winter meetings) environment.”
Schrock, 23, was considered one of Oakland’s better prospects after being acquired for Marc Rzepczynski in August 2016; Schrock’s 177 hits that season led all of the minor leagues. He hit .321 at Double-A Midland this season. However, he has fallen behind several other young players, including Franklin Barreto, Jorge Mateo and Sheldon Neuse, on the A’s organizational depth chart.
Muñoz, 22, hit a combined .300 between Midland and Triple-A Nashville last season and he plays multiple positions well. “Muñoz is going to play in the big leagues,” the National League scout said. “I think he’s an everyday guy. He’s going to hit, and the power might come. St. Louis is getting two players who have a chance to have some real value.”
Piscotty, 26, fits the bill that Oakland was seeking this winter: He’s a right-handed hitter signed through 2022 with a team option for 2023; his deal is worth $33.5 million and it’s possible St. Louis will pick up a portion of that when the trade is finalized.
Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sslusser@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susanslusser
Piscotty’s stats
A look at the 26-year-old outfielder’s career with St. Louis:
Ht/Wt: 6-3, 210 B/T: R/R
|
G |
Avg. |
HR |
RBI |
|
|
2015 |
63 |
.305 |
7 |
39 |
|
2016 |
153 |
.273 |
22 |
85 |
|
2017 |
107 |
.235 |
9 |
39 |