Piscotty traded to be near sick mom

This is the “Cardinal Way.” The Cardinals sent outfielder Stephen Piscotty to the Athletics for two minor-league infielders on Thursday. It’s not exactly a championship-building trade for either team. It relieves some positional clog for the Cardinals, but it’s also a trade mostly done for Piscotty’s sake.

The 26-year-old is a Bay Area native, and it’s where his mother, Gretchen, currently battles ALS. She was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease in May, which caused Piscotty to miss a few games after the Cardinals granted him permission to return home. Together, mom and son watched several Cardinals games during their time together in May.

“It just really puts life in perspective,” Piscotty said. “When I got the news it was a little tough to focus.”

The trade was influenced more by human- ity than business.

“I don’t know if I can empathize with Piscotty,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “You just hurt for him. You can’t even really go there to understand him and at his age and what it is that he had to endure or what that is like for a family. I think it’s really just understanding that it is very, very difficult. You let him know that you care. You acknowledge. You have compassion.

“We’re trying to be support for him, and we have to look to do anything we can.”

Piscotty’s parting was also made easier after the Cardinals acquired Marlins All-Star outfielder Marcell Ozuna on Wednesday.

In 107 games last season, Piscotty batted .235 and hit nine home runs, a regression from the 22 home runs he hit in 2016, when he looked like one of the next young stars of the National League.