A's Release Stephen Piscotty
The Oakland A's have released outfielder Stephen Piscotty, accoding to the minor league transactions page. The 33-year-old Pleasanton, Ca native had signed a minor league deal with the A's back in February and assigned him to the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators out of camp.
In 31 games with Vegas, Piscotty went 19-for-108 (.176) with a .246 OBP, one home run, four doubles, and a .487 OPS. With the amount of depth the A's have in the outfield, it was unlikely that he was going to get a return trip to the Coliseum this season. At least now he has a chance at latching on with another club if he wants to continue to keep trying to reach the big leagues.
Back in 2016 he really burst onto the scene with the St. Louis Cardinals, swatting 22 homers while batting .273 with 85 RBI in 153 games. A down year in 2017 and the failing health of his mother led to the A's and Cardinals working out a trade to bring Piscotty closer to his family.
In 2018 he was back to his previous self on the field, belting a career-high 27 homers while hitting .267 and a .331 OBP. Off the field, his mother's health deteriorated and she passed away on May 8, 2018. In his return from the bereavement list, he swatted a home run in Boston that became the most memorable moment of his time in Oakland.
In his first game off the bereavement list after losing his mother to ALS, Stephen Piscotty hit this emotional home run. #LouGehrigDay #ALSChatter pic.twitter.com/MfU4AcITwI
— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) June 2, 2021
This is the moment that made A's fans rally around him, and why so many fans in the Bay Area still have lots of love for Stephen and his family.
In 2019, Stephen and his father started the ALS CURE Project in honor of Gretchen Piscotty "with the sole purpose of finding a cure for ALS." Major League Baseball has also joined the fight in recent years, deeming June 2 "Lou Gehrig Day" around baseball. ALS was previously named "Lou Gehrig's Disease."
PIscotty's baseball journey is at a crossroads, but he created numerous memories in Oakland during his five seasons with the club.
JASON BURKE
Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum.