In an offseason transaction that was praised across baseball and beyond, the Cardinals traded Stanford product Stephen Piscotty, 27, to Oakland for minor-league infielders Yairo Munoz and Max Schrock because the Cardinals needed to thin their outfield depth and acquire middle infielders.
“I’m incredibly excited and grateful for the opportunity to play close to home,” Piscotty wrote in a text message to the Post-Dispatch after he was traded in December. “It’s definitely bittersweet, but to be close to my mom and my family is priceless. Thankful to both the Cardinals and the A’s.”