St. Louis Cardinals Agree to Extension with Stephen Piscotty
Stephen Piscotty has a deal to remain with the Cardinals long-term.
Gambling on the potential of exciting young players and signing them to club-friendly long-term contract extensions was essential as the St. Louis Cardinals embarked on a dominant run during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Though the strategy has largely failed with guys like Kolten Wong and Allen Craig, it’s also allowed them to retain players like Matt Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, and Jaime García long-term at below-market rates.
The Cardinals will reportedly utilize that strategy once again on Monday, as they’re set to announce a long-term extension with outfielder Stephen Piscotty. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi first reported progress on the extension, and the deal has since been confirmed by Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports and MLB Network.
The 26-year-old outfielder hasn’t exactly done a ton to make extending him an obvious priority. While he hit 11 homers after the All-Star break, he posted a less-than-stellar .247/.310/.430 slash line and had 71 strikeouts over that period. He didn’t show any signs of bouncing back from that rough finish during spring training this year, hitting .151/.262/.189 with just two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 61 plate appearances.
With that said, his career offensive numbers are very good–through 818 major-league plate appearances dating back to July of 2015, he has a .282/.349/.467 slash line with 29 homers. He’s also been a very strong defensive presence in right field, helping ease the loss of Jason Heyward for the Cardinals, and he’s provided the versatility to play first base and center field when needed.
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Piscotty is the second player the Cardinals have announced an extension with in as many days, as they held a press conference to announce Yadier Molina‘s three-year, $60 million-dollar deal on Sunday. With Piscotty locked up, the only members of the Opening Day starting nine who aren’t signed beyond 2017 are Jhonny Peralta, Aledmys Díaz, and Randal Grichuk. Neither Díaz or Grichuk has reached arbitration yet, though Grichuk will be subject to the process for the first time this winter.