CARDINALS
Piscotty traded to A's
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Stephen Piscotty has been traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Oakland Athletics for two infield prospects, allowing the outfielder to be near his family's home in Pleasanton, Calif., following his mother's diagnosis with Lou Gehrig's disease.
Gretchen Piscotty was diagnosed in May with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that attacks nerve cells. Her son left the Cardinals for five days after the diagnosis and returned May 31.
"You are never making a player trade simply for geographic or sentimental reasons," said John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations for the Cardinals. "It had to be something that made sense for us. There were certainly some opportunities to move him elsewhere. When you are looking at how to break a tie, clearly that did play into it."
St. Louis receives Yairo Munoz and Max Schrock in the deal announced Thursday.
Piscotty, 26, hit .235 with 9 home runs and 39 RBI in 107 games last season, spending stretches on the disabled list because of a strained hamstring and groin. Piscotty hit 22 home runs with 85 RBI in 2016, and has batted .268 with 38 home runs and 163 RBI in 2½ major league seasons.
CUBS
Cishek gets contract
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- A person familiar with the negotiations said side-arming reliever Steve Cishek and the Chicago Cubs have agreed to a two-year contract.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal was subject to a successful physical and had not been announced.
A right-hander, Cishek, 31, had a 2.01 ERA and a 3-2 record in 49 relief appearances this year for Seattle and Tampa Bay, which acquired him on July 28. He would join rejoin a rebuilt Cubs bullpen that includes right-hander Brandon Morrow, who finalized a $21 million, two-year contract on Tuesday.
Cishek is 24-28 with a 2.73 ERA and 121 saves over 8 seasons.
His eight-year major league career started with the Florida and Miami Marlins from 2010-15. He was traded to St. Louis in July 2015, became a free agent and signed a $10 million, two-year contract with the Mariners.
He had 25 saves for the Mariners in 2016 but lost his closer role after six blown saves. Cishek threw a tying wild pitch as he failed to hold a 6-3 lead in a 7-6 loss at the Cubs on July 31, and the following night he allowed a tiebreaking home run to Boston's Mookie Betts leading off the ninth inning in a 2-1 defeat.
RANGERS
OF Tocci signed
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers have acquired outfielder Carlos Tocci from the Chicago White Sox and signed infielder Hanser Alberto and right-hander Kevin Jepsen to minor league contracts, with invitations to major league spring training.
The Rangers got Tocci from the White Sox for cash after Chicago selected the 22-year-old in the Rule 5 draft Thursday. Anthony Gose, a Texas outfielder assigned to Class AAA Round Rock, was selected by Houston in the Rule 5 draft.
Tocci hit .294 with 3 home runs and 52 RBI in 130 minor league games in the Philadelphia system last season.
Alberto, 25, a utility man, became a free agent when he wasn't offered a major league contract by the Rangers after spending last season on the disabled list with shoulder issues that led to surgery in June.
Jepsen, 33, didn't appear in the majors last season. In 2015, he tied for the AL lead with 75 relief appearances and had a career-best 15 saves with Minnesota and Tampa Bay.
TWINS
Rodney signs for year
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- A person familiar with the negotiations said reliever Fernando Rodney and the Minnesota Twins have agreed to a $4.5 million, one-year contract.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press on Thursday because the agreement had not yet been announced.
Rodney turns 41 on March 18 and will be in his 16th major league season. The right-hander, known for firing an imaginary arrow to celebrate the final out of victories, had 39 saves in 45 chances this year for Arizona. He was 5-4 with a 4.23 ERA, striking out 65 and walking 26 in 55 1/3 innings.
A three-time All-Star, Rodney is 44-63 with 300 saves in 828 relief appearances for Detroit (2002-03 and 2005-09), the Los Angeles Angels (2010-11), Tampa Bay (2012-13), Seattle (2014-15), the Chicago Cubs (2015), San Diego (2016), Miami (2016) and Arizona.
Matt Belisle closed for the Twins in the final two months of last season after Brandon Kintzler was traded to Washington on July 31.
RAYS
Venters invited to train
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Relief pitcher Jonny Venters has been invited to big league spring training by the Tampa Bay Rays while trying to come back from his third Tommy John surgery.
The 32-year-old left-hander hasn't pitched in the majors since the 2012 NL wild-card card game for Atlanta. He had elbow ligament replacement operations with Dr. James Andrews in 2005 and 2013 and Dr. Neal ElAttrache in 2014.
Venters spent last season in the minors for Tampa Bay, pitching at four levels and reaching Class AAA. He had a 2.28 ERA in 24 games.
Venters made his major league debut in 2010 with Atlanta and was an All-Star the next year. He often dominated in the Braves bullpen over three seasons, going 15-10 with a 2.23 ERA in 230 games and striking out 258 in 229 2/3 innings.
Beset by elbow trouble, he didn't play pro ball from 2013-15. He briefly pitched for the Rays in the low minors in 2016 and had a fourth surgery, by ElAttrache, on his elbow to re-attach a ligament.
Sports on 12/15/2017