The Athletics have signed outfielder Stephen Piscotty to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The CAA Sports client has been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas for now but will presumably receive an invite to major league camp.
Piscotty, 33, will be returning to his long-time home after a year in the wilderness. He signed a minor league deal with the Giants around this time last year but was released after not making the club’s Opening Day roster. He landed another minor league deal, this one with the White Sox, but was released in August after hitting a tepid .232/.330/.390 in Triple-A.
He now returns to the organization for whom he played from 2018 to 2022. While still a member of the Cardinals, he signed an extension in April of 2017, a six-year pact that guaranteed him $33.5MM. He was traded to the A’s prior to the 2018 campaign and his first season in Oakland was excellent. He hit 27 home runs and slashed .267/.331/.491 for a wRC+ of 126.
Unfortunately, his production fell off from there. He hit just 28 home runs over the next four seasons, leading to a batting line of .229/.287/.378 and a wRC+ of 83. He was released in August of 2022 with a few months remaining on his extension.
Given that it’s been many years since he was an effective hitter, the A’s probably aren’t expecting too much from him. But as the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as a bad minor league deal. The A’s can bring him into camp as a veteran presence for a fairly young roster and see if he’s able to turn things around and get back in good form. The club projects to have an outfield mix consisting of Esteury Ruiz, JJ Bleday, Seth Brown, Brent Rooker, Miguel Andújar and Lawrence Butler.
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