MLB Winter Meetings rumors: Cardinals and A's close to a Stephen Piscotty trade
The A's need outfield help, and the Cardinals have a glut
By
Dayn Perry
•
1 min read
The Cardinals on Wednesday reportedly completed a trade for Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna, and that means they have a bit of a roster logjam. To ease that, the Cardinals are reportedly talking to the Athletics about a trade. Here's the scoop from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle ...
The A's and Cardinals continued discussions about Cardinals outfielder Stephen Piscotty on Wednesday, with multiple sources suggesting a trade might be concluded before the end of the winter meetings.
Slusser's story has more, including the name of one A's prospect who may have been part of discussions.
Stephen Piscotty, who turns 27 in January, is coming off a disappointing 2017 season in which he put up an OPS+ of 88 in 107 games. He was, however, much more productive in 2015 and '16. Piscotty is signed through 2022 and owed more than $30 million over that span. Here's how it breaks down:
- 2018: $1 million
- 2019: $7 million
- 2020: $7 million
- 2021: $7.25 million
- 2022: $7.25 million
- 2023: $1 million buyout/$15 million club option
Right now the A's are poised to open the season with Matt Joyce and Chad Pinder at the outfield corners and Khris Davis at designated hitter. Absent additional roster churn, it seems likely Piscotty would dislodge Pinder. On the St. Louis side, a trade of Piscotty would set up a starting outfield of Ozuna, Dexter Fowler and Tommy Pham, with Jose Martinez also perhaps seeing occasional time in left field.
Piscotty is a Stanford product and a native of the Bay Area. He would likely welcome a trade to the region, in part because sadly his mother was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -- also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease -- earlier this year.
