Piscotty returns to A's on Minor League deal

This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ A’s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MESA, Ariz. -- The A’s are bringing back a fan favorite to their organization.

With Spring Training opening earlier this week, the A’s reunited with outfielder Stephen Piscotty on a Minor League deal and assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Piscotty, 33, grew up a die-hard A’s fan in the East Bay city of Pleasanton. Traded from the Cardinals to Oakland in December 2017, he lived out a childhood dream by playing for his hometown team for five seasons from '18-22.

“It’s awesome,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of having Piscotty back in the organization. “Stephen reached out to us and expressed his desire to come back here and give it another shot. He said he feels great.”

After setting career-highs with 27 home runs and 88 RBIs with the A’s in 2018, Piscotty battled several injuries and struggled to regain that form in the four years following. He signed a Minor League deal with the White Sox last April and spent the entire season at Triple-A Charlotte, where he hit .232 with six homers and 32 RBIs in 51 games.

While Piscotty will begin his spring in A’s Minor League camp, Kotsay did not rule out the possibility of adding him to big league camp next month if an opportunity arises. At the very least, Piscotty brings experience and can serve as a resource for the younger players on the roster, whether that comes in the Majors or at Triple-A.

“The only reason Stephen is not in big league camp right now is, obviously we signed him late, and we’ve got a ton of outfielders here that we need to take a look at,” Kotsay said. “It’s important that he can just prepare for his season. This is a guy that has a track record, and he’s a great person to be around if he is in Triple-A to be around that group and impact them.”