Yankees, Greg Allen Agree To Minor League Deal

Fleet-footed outfielder Greg Allen is returning to the Yankees organization on a minor league deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The CAA client will be in camp as a non-roster invitee this spring. Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds that Allen would earn at a $1.1MM rate if selected to the big league roster. There’s another $400K available via incentives, per Sherman, which takes the form of a $50K bonus for every 50th plate appearance beginning at 150 and ranging through 500. Allen hasn’t reached 150 MLB plate appearances since 2019 and has never topped 291 plate appearances in a season.

It’s the third stint with the Yankees for the 30-year-old Allen, who was traded from San Diego to New York back in 2021. Allen appeared in 15 games that season and has since bounced from the Pirates, to the Red Sox, back to the Yankees, to the Brewers and now back to the Bronx.

Allen spent the bulk of the 2023 season in the Yankees organization but was designated for assignment in August and elected free agency after going unclaimed on waivers. He took just 28 plate appearances with the Yanks — his only big league action last season — and slashed .217/.333/.478 with a homer and three steals in that tiny sample. The rest of his season was spent in Triple-A, where he batted a combined .252/.388/.371 between the Yankees, Brewers and Red Sox organizations.

In parts of seven of MLB seasons, Allen is a .231/.300/.340 hitter with 11 homers, 31 doubles, eight triples, a 5.7% walk rate and a 23.4% strikeout rate in 828 plate appearances. He’s a switch-hitter with minimal pop but plus speed and strong defensive skills across all three outfield positions. Allen won’t have an easy path to a big league roster spot on a team whose outfield mix consists of Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Alex Verdugo, Trent Grisham and Giancarlo Stanton (though he’ll primarily DH). That said, he’s a fine depth piece to stash in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to begin the season, which seems to be the likeliest role for him unless injuries create some openings on the big league roster during spring training.