Orioles sign journeyman outfielder to major league deal

The Orioles announced that they have signed outfielder Greg Allen to a major league deal. A roster spot was vacated earlier when infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján was claimed off waivers by Atlanta. Allen had been with the Cubs on a minor league deal but was released a few days ago, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The O’s also reinstated first baseman Ryan Mountcastle from the 60-day injured list and recalled outfielder Jordyn Adams. Those two will take the spots of outfielders Colton Cowser and Tyler O’Neill. Cowser has been placed on the seven-day concussion IL, retroactive to August 7, and O’Neill on the 10-day IL, retroactive to August 6, due to right wrist inflammation. The O’s had 40-man vacancies for Mountcastle, so no corresponding move was required in that regard.

Allen has been playing fairly well for Triple-A Iowa this year, with a .270/.355/.440 line and 105 wRC+ in 231 plate appearances. He also stole 11 bases while playing all three outfield positions. Given that solid performance, it’s possible he opted out of that pact, rather than simply being released.

Regardless, the result is he gets an opportunity with the O’s. He has had big league chances before but without much success, having slashed .231/.300/.340 in 828 plate appearances from 2017 to 2023. However, he stole 48 bases in that time and got some strong marks for his glovework in the outfield.

The O’s opened up some playing time in their outfield recently. Ahead of the deadline, they traded both Ramón Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn to the Padres, in addition to flipping Cedric Mullins to the Mets. Calling up Heston Kjerstad would have made sense but he’s been shut down due to fatigue, per Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner.

Lately, Coswer, O’Neill, Jeremiah Jackson and Dylan Carlson have been sharing the outfield time. With Cowser and O’Neill now heading to the IL, Allen and Adams give them some other outfielders who can factor into the mix. Allen is out of options, so if the O’s want to remove him from the active roster at any point, he would need to be removed from the 40-man entirely.

As for Mountcastle, he’s looking to put a nice finish on what has otherwise been an awful year. He hit .246/.280/.348 in 52 games before a hamstring strain sent him to the IL at the end of May. The O’s can retain him for 2026 via arbitration but he likely needs to show them something good down the stretch for that to be a possibility. He is already making $6.787M this year. His results this year will hurt his earning power but he would be due at least a nominal raise.

He came into this year with a career .265/.316/.450 batting line and 111 wRC+. If he can hit like that for a few weeks, perhaps the O’s will bring him back next year. He’s in the designated hitter spot tonight with Coby Mayo playing first base.