The Cardinals have announced a news conference for 2PM ET/1PM CT this afternoon. While they have not yet revealed the purpose of the presser, Ken Rosenthal reports that the club will use it to announce a contract extension for right fielder Stephen Piscotty.
Piscotty has played only one full season in the bigs and part of a second, but he has already established himself as the man who will man right in St. Louis for a long time. In 2016 he hit .273/.343/.457 with 22 homers and 85 driven in. In 2015 he hit .305/.359/.494 in 62 games.
Piscotty would not be eligible for arbitration until after the 2019 season and would not be eligible for free agency until after the 2022 season. That means he’ll get some money now without the uncertainty of the next few years. It also means, of course, that he will get a lot less money than if he were to remain healthy and effective and hit those milestones without a long term deal.
But such are the tradeoffs of every young player.
UPDATE: Piscotty will be guaranteed $33.5 million in his extension, which will likely be a six-year deal with a team option.