Cardinals Activate Outfielder Stephen Piscotty

(photo: Stephen Piscotty/USA TODAY Sports Images)

After his four-game rehab weekend at Peoria, right fielder Stephen Piscotty rejoined the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.

St. Louis Cardinals press release

Stephen Piscotty (USA TODAY Sports Images)

The St. Louis Cardinals announced today (Tuesday) that they have activated outfielder Stephen Piscotty from the 10-day disabled list (right groin strain) and optioned outfielder Harrison Bader (BAY-der) to Memphis (AAA) in a move retroactive to July 31.

Piscotty, 26, finished a four-game rehabilitation assignment to Peoria (A) on Sunday night, batting .200 (3-15) with two doubles, three RBI and a stolen base.  He will join the team in Milwaukee to begin an eight-game road trip tonight.

The Cardinals’ outfielder injured his right groin on July 14 in Pittsburgh while making a catch in the 9th inning off a ball hit to right field by the Pirates’ Josh Harrison and left the game.  This marked his second stint on the disabled list this season missing 12 games with a right hamstring strain from May 5-19.  Piscotty has played in 69 games this season batting .236 with six home runs and 31 RBI.

Harrison Bader (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Bader, 23, started six games in centerfield for St. Louis and batted .286 (6-21) with two doubles, two walks and a run scored.  The run scored was the game-winning run on a game-ending sacrifice fly in his Major League debut on July 25 vs. Colorado.

Brian Walton’s take

Nothing surprising here. Four rehab games for Piscotty is about all any MLB hitter has to endure and Bader was actually already optioned out on Monday. The latter was only brought up in the first place because there was an opportunity for him to start with St. Louis. Since Piscotty now reclaims right field, Bader heads back to Memphis. Of course, he will be back eventually.

Though it will likely be denied, it was interesting to see Piscotty’s name included in a rumored trade offer made by the Cardinals to Oakland. It was part of a deal for Sonny Gray that was rejected by the A’s, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

All you buyers who remained disciplined, refused to succumb to the emotions of the deadline, held onto your precious…

Posted by Ken Rosenthal on Monday, July 31, 2017

If true, it might suggest a softening of the positioning of Piscotty as a core Cardinal. The outfielder is under contract through 2022 with a club option for 2023 but has struggled at the plate this season.

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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnationblog.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.

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