The Athletics have held Stephen Piscotty out of spring training games while dealing with a side injury now revealed to be an intercostal strain. He won’t be making his Cactus League debut anytime soon.
The Pleasanton native has been shut down indefinitely after an MRI showed the injury to be a “little worse” than expected, A’s manager Bob Melvin told reporters in Mesa, Ariz., on Friday morning.
Melvin wouldn’t rule Piscotty out for Opening Day, though he couldn’t provide a timetable for his return.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Piscotty was set to have batting practice Thursday but backed out of the workout, telling the San Francisco Chronicle he would do so soon. MRI results seem to have backed up that prediction somewhat.
[RELATED: Why Melvin is confident Khrush will bounce back this season]
The Athletics are deep in the outfield, and an optimist might say they can sort out a crowded position group by giving at-bats to others for the time being.
“The more you do this, the more important you realize depth is,” Melvin said, via the Chronicle. “It’s very rarely you get through spring training and everyone gets through healthy.”