Piscotty traded to A's, closer to mom with ALS

Gretchen Piscotty's diagnosis became public in early June, after Stephen missed almost a week of Cardinals games.

Momentum for a Piscotty deal built throughout the week, then picked up steam early Wednesday when the Cardinals pulled off an apparent blockbuster. According to Heyman, two minor leaguers are heading from Oakland to St. Louis in the deal.

It appears the A's have checked one very large item off their to-do list at the Winter Meetings. There's no indication of how quickly that will happen. But if this trade reaches the finish line, it's an impact addition for Oakland.

Schrock, 23, was originally a 13th round draft pick by the Washington Nationals in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of SC. It also gave them way too many outfielders.

Piscotty turns 27 in January, and he's under team control for the next six years.

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Piscotty is a California native, and Ahmed Fareed of NBC Sports noted the Cardinals were "looking out for him by sending him home" because his mother was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) earlier this year.

Throughout the season, Piscotty was struggling at the plate only batting.235, hitting nine home runs and having thirty-nine runs batted in while having 341 at-bats. He's guaranteed $29.5 million over the next five seasons - a very manageable sum - and the A's will hold a $15 million club option for 2023 that includes a $1 million buyout. That comes after hitting.273/.343/.457 (113 OPS+) with 22 home runs in 2016.

With confirmation still pending, the Cardinals have reportedly acquired the Miami Marlins outfielder in a trade that involved Sandy Alcantara.

Over 504 career minor league games, Muñoz batted.265 with 41 home runs and 237 RBI and 63 stolen bases in 87 attempts.

Oakland remains on the lookout for a left-handed reliever, likely to be found via free agency.