Piscotty signed a minor-league deal with the Athletics on Feb. 3 that includes an invitation to spring training.
Piscotty enjoyed his best season in the majors with the Athletics in 2018, but his performance has precipitously ever since. He didn't appear in the majors at any point in 2023 and had been a free agent ever since the White Sox released him from his minor-league deal in August. Even though Oakland projects to field one of MLB's weaker lineups in 2024, Piscotty will likely face long odds to break camp with the big club coming out of spring training.
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Stephen Piscotty: Cut loose by White Sox
Rotowire
Piscotty was released by the White Sox on Wednesday.
Piscotty had spent all of this season at Triple-A Charlotte, where he posted a .720 OPS with six home runs over 51 games. The veteran outfielder has bounced around a bit the last few years and hasn't had much success at the big-league level during that time. He'll now seek another opportunity elsewhere.
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White Sox's Stephen Piscotty: Joins White Sox on minors deal
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Piscotty signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox on Saturday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.
Piscotty hit .268/.341/.455 across his first four big-league seasons but has stumbled to a .229/.287/.378 line over the last four years. He'll be an option if an injury crisis strikes the White Sox's outfield but is unlikely to make a major impact for his new team.
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Stephen Piscotty: Parts ways with San Francisco
Rotowire
The Giants released Piscotty on Thursday.
After being reassigned to the Giants' minor-league camp last week, Piscotty ultimately requested his release rather than electing to report to Triple-A Sacramento. The 32-year-old Piscotty will likely look elsewhere for a minor-league contract, and even though he has a pair of 20-plus-home run seasons in the majors on his resume, it's difficult to envision him drawing significant interest. His production has been steadily trending downward in recent seasons, culminating in a career-worst .593 OPS and 34.5 percent strikeout rate in 139 plate appearances in Oakland in 2022 before he was cut loose last August.
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Giants' Stephen Piscotty: Moved to minor-league camp
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Piscotty was reassigned to minor-league camp by the Giants on Saturday, Amy Gutierrez of the Giants' official site reports.
Piscotty was signed to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training in February. The outfielder dealt with an oblique injury during the Cactus League, and he hit .320/.370/.440 over 27 plate appearances in Arizona. The 32-year-old will begin the year in Triple-A Sacramento, and if the Giants decide to give him a promotion they'll have to add him to the 40-man roster.
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Giants' Stephen Piscotty: Returns to Cactus League play
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Piscotty (oblique) is back in the Giants' Cactus League lineup Tuesday, Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Piscotty will start in right field and bat eighth against the Dodgers after missing around 10 days of exhibition action due to a mild oblique injury. He should be ready for the beginning of the 2023 regular season, though it's unclear if the Giants are going to carry him on their active 26-man roster.
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Giants' Stephen Piscotty: Resumes baseball activity
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Piscotty (oblique) is back to doing light baseball activity, Amy Gutierrez of the Giants' official site reports.
The veteran outfielder will be reevaluated over the weekend and could receive a timetable to return by then. Piscotty had been having a solid spring before his injury, going 7-for-21 at the plate with five RBI and a steal.
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Giants' Stephen Piscotty: Reaches deal with San Francisco
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Piscotty and the Giants agreed Monday on a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to MLB spring training, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
Piscotty will get the chance to compete for a roster berth with the Giants during spring training, with a role as a short-side platoon outfielder likely being his most realistic path to winning a spot. The 32-year-old spent time in the Oakland and Cincinnati organizations in 2022, seeing all of his action in the majors with the former club. Over 139 plate appearances with the Athletics, Piscotty slashed .190/.252/.341 with a career-worst 34.5 percent strikeout rate.
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Reds' Stephen Piscotty: Lands minors deal with Reds
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Piscotty signed a minor-league deal with the Reds on Tuesday, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
It would be a nice park upgrade for Piscotty to go from Oakland to Cincinnati, but the fact he got released by the last-place Athletics isn't a good sign for what he may have left in the tank. He hit .190/.252/.341 with five home runs for Oakland before getting released. Piscotty will head to Triple-A and could get called up before the end of the season.
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Stephen Piscotty: Time in Oakland over
Rotowire
The Athletics released Piscotty on Tuesday.
Considering that Piscotty has produced a weak .593 OPS across 139 plate appearances and is set to turn 32 years old in January, the Athletics likely weren't considering exercising his $15 million team option in 2023. Rather than delaying the inevitable, the Athletics opted to get an early start on moving on from Piscotty, who wasn't a priority on a team in the midst of what could be a lengthy rebuild. Though Piscotty has a pair of 20-plus-home-run seasons on his resume, his poor numbers in recent years may force him to settle for a minor-league deal with his next organization.
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Athletics' Stephen Piscotty: Remains on bench Wednesday
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Piscotty isn't starting Wednesday against the Angels.
Piscotty has gone 1-for-14 with a walk and seven strikeouts over six games since the start of August and will be out of the lineup for the third time in the last four games. Ramon Laureano will shift to right field while Cal Stevenson starts in center.
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Athletics' Stephen Piscotty: Not in Tuesday's lineup
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Piscotty is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Angels.
Piscotty is 1-for-16 with a walk and eight strikeouts in his past six contests and will take a seat Tuesday. Ramon Laureano will shift to right field while Skye Bolt starts in center.
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Athletics' Stephen Piscotty: Heads to bench Sunday
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Piscotty is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants.
Piscotty will cede his spot in the Oakland outfield to Skye Bolt, who is rewarded with a second consecutive start after going 1-for-2 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 7-3 loss. Dating back to the All-Star break, Piscotty is hitting .231 with three home runs and two doubles in 12 games. While that level of production isn't anything special, it might be enough for Piscotty to hold down a near-everyday role, given the Athletics' lack of appealing alternatives.
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Athletics' Stephen Piscotty: Out of Wednesday's lineup
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Piscotty is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Angels, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Piscotty started eight of the last nine games and will step out of the starting nine after posting a .900 OPS with two doubles, three homers, six RBI and five runs during that stretch. Jed Lowrie will bat sixth as the designated hitter Wednesday.
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Athletics' Stephen Piscotty: Takes seat Saturday
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Piscotty isn't starting Saturday against the White Sox.
Piscotty is getting a breather after he hit .348 with three homers, two doubles, six RBI and five runs over the last six games. Chad Pinder will serve as the designated hitter and bat seventh.
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Athletics' Stephen Piscotty: Drives in three with homer
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Piscotty went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in a 7-3 win over the White Sox on Friday.
Piscotty took advantage of a fielding error at first by Jose Abreu by drilling a home run to left that cashed in two baserunners. The blast on an inside sinker from Lance Lynn gives Piscotty three homers since July 24 and five total on the season. The 31-year-old designated hitter is now 8-for-23 over his last six games and has lifted his season-long average from .183 to .219.
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Athletics' Stephen Piscotty: Homers in win
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Piscotty went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in a 4-2 win over the Astros on Wednesday.
Piscotty teamed up with Stephen Vogt to take Cristian Javier deep for back-to-back solo shots during the second inning. It was Piscotty's fourth home run of the year, and the veteran outfielder is slashing a sub-par .218/.283/.376. Although he hasn't built much momentum this year, Piscotty now has four hits over his last two games.
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Athletics' Stephen Piscotty: Swats pair of doubles in win
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Piscotty went 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run in a win over the Astros on Tuesday.
The veteran outfielder put some rare good wood on the ball, accumulating only his sixth and seventh extra-base hits of the campaign. Piscotty's average also jumped back over the Mendoza Line for the first time since July 9, and he's shown some signs of life at the plate recently by going 5-for-16 over his last four games.
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Athletics' Stephen Piscotty: Launches third homer in loss
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Piscotty went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in a loss to the Rangers on Sunday.
The veteran left the yard for the third time this season to close out a four-run eighth inning for the Athletics, launching a 415-foot shot to left field with Chad Pinder aboard. Piscotty's multi-hit effort was his first since June 29, as the 31-year-old has been mired in a 5-for-39 slump over the 12 games prior to Sunday.
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Athletics' Stephen Piscotty: Breather Friday
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Piscotty will sit Friday versus the Rangers.
Piscotty will get a breather after he went 0-for-2 with a walk and an RBI in the matinee of Thursday's doubleheader with the Tigers before taking a seat in the nightcap. Sheldon Neuse will draw the start at designated hitter and bat ninth against Texas.
