A's Bring Back A Familiar Face in Former Star Outfielder

The Oakland A's are bringing back a familiar face, reuniting with their former star outfielder, hometown kid and former MLB first-round pick Stephen Piscotty.

Outfielder Stephen Piscotty is returning to the Oakland A's on minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.

Piscotty was born and raised in the East Bay and is a Stanford alum.

Last year, Piscotty voiced his support for the fan boycotts and reverse boycotts. pic.twitter.com/ofBbAfXQGM

— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) February 14, 2024

It's a minor league deal for the 33-year-old East Bay native, and he'll be assigned to AAA Las Vegas to start spring training, though it's quite likely he'll manage to break camp with the big club. Piscotty had a career year in Oakland in 2018, launching 27 homers with 88 RBIs, a .821 OPS and an OPS+ of 124.

That was the first of his five straight seasons with the Athletics, but his production continued to decline since that high water mark. In his five years in Oakland wrapping up in 2022, he recorded a .245 batting average and an OPS+ right on the break-even mark, at 100.

Piscotty wasn't able to land a major league job in 2023, after signing a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants in spring training, but failing to make the club. He was released and then later secured another minor league contract, this time with the Chicago White Sox. He batted just .232 however, at their Triple-A affiliate, and was released once again.

The A's head into spring training with an outfield depth chart consisting of  Esteury Ruiz, JJ Bleday, Seth Brown, Brent Rooker, Miguel Andújar and now Piscotty.

Photo: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports