Pleasanton native Stephen Piscotty is looking to jumpstart his Major League Baseball career in the Bay Area in the new season, receiving an invitation to compete at San Francisco Giants spring training after spending the end of last year in the minors following his release by the Oakland Athletics.
Piscotty, a 2009 Amador Valley High graduate and former standout at Stanford University, is among 37 non-roster invitees announced by the Giants on Monday. Robert Murray of FanSided reported that Piscotty and the Giants have agreed to terms on a minor-league contract for 2023.
The 32-year-old right-hander is expected to compete for one of the remaining backup outfield positions on the Giants big-league squad this spring. If Piscotty made the team, he'd be the second Pleasanton product on the Giants, joining shortstop Brandon Crawford, a former star at Foothill High.
Piscotty made his MLB debut for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015 and was traded to this A's after the 2017 season -- a story that made national headlines as the Cardinals agreed to send Piscotty to a team closer to Pleasanton where his mother Gretchen was battling ALS.
He had a strong 2018 season with the A's, but much of the rest of his tenure in Oakland was hampered by injuries and inconsistency. He was released midway through last season after batting .190 with five homers and 14 RBI in 42 games with the A's. Piscotty played in the minors in the Cincinnati Reds' organization for the rest of 2022 before entering free agency.
