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.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Good for him. Kind of surprising though…
These guy is like Mighty Mouse. He keeps fighting to stay on a major league roster.
Right on!!!
Elias has taken dumpster diving to a new level.
Greg Allen is 106 years old. Prove me wrong.
Funny the author sidesteps the age question. I thought he was out of baseball by now.
Believe it or not he’s still just 32. CLE brought him up very early, but he couldn’t stick there for the same reason he hasn’t stuck anywhere else. Never been able to hit worth a damn.
Why do we keep recycling trash players over and over? Bring up Beavers and see what we might really have instead of just temporary garbage. Getting harder to defend these stupid moves
Yeah, they’d rather run out an outfield of Carlson, Allen, and Noda. Big futures ahead for all of these guys.
Service time clock on the youngsters. The Orioles aren’t the only team that does this.
Cowser is garbage, that’s right I said it.
I’m not impressed. Don’t look up what Stowers is doing in Miami, it’ll make you sick.
Why not???
O’Neil is on the DL? Man I bet nobody saw that coming.
Yes, this time it is a “general case of disinterest.”
He is collecting his bread and just taking a breather.
The sad thing is, the first year opt out is a player option, not team option. So he can sit on his butt and collect another $16.5M for the next year, then try to put together a good season in the third year and try to get a new contract.
The O’s really missed on this one. Of course Santander has not done much of anything in TOR.
If they are counting on O’Neill to be a major contributor next season, they are mistaken. He should be relegated to bench/PH role until he decides he feels like playing baseball again.
Why and when was Greg Allen released by the Cubs? The fact that he was never gonna get the call?
He was only there as an emergency callup, and CHC just hasn’t had an emergency of that magnitude this year.
How did he get a Major League deal? He can’t hit at all and had one good year like 5-6 years ago.
Pretty kind assessment. He was regarded as a 4th OF at best by baseball America if I remember correctly (probably not). To quote Cameron “he can’t hit he can’t hit he can’t hit” but he plays a pretty decent LF and CF in the late innings.
1) He’s out of options.
2) He plays the entire OF, and the Orioles traded away their best CFer, and the guys they have left aren’t great in CF.
3) The O’s were desperate, and it isn’t like any team is getting rid of amazing, young, starting centerfielders.
For people wondering why these younger guys are being kept in the minors, it is simple. It is about their MLB service time clock and keeping these guys under team control for as long as possible.
The Orioles kept the wrong OFers. Kjerstead, whom I really liked, doesn’t seem like the same player after getting plunked in the head. Now he’s out with “fatigue.” I wonder if something is going on with his heart again. I hope not, most importantly I want him to be in good health. Cowser still hasn’t shown much. He’s another Mountcastle, a low avg, low obp, 20-25HR hitter in a good year player.
I do think MIA and BAL got a win-win situation. The initial return on Rogers wasn’t great, but he is lights out right now. Stowers is leading the Marlins in OBP, SLG, OPS doubles , HR, RBI, He is second in BA only behind Xavier Edwards (.303 to .285), and he is second in Triples (3). Connor Norby hasn’t panned out well at all so far in Miami.
I also like how they trade to move one of the players blocking playing time for Mayo, and then sign a 30 year old to play the positions he plays, while Mountcastle comes back. You don’t need Noda. Get rid of him and let Mayo and Mountcastle play 1b/DH, splits be darned. Mounty needs all the time he can get to re-establish some trade value, and Mayo deserves more playing time. You aren’t fighting for anything right now, there is no excuse not to play him every day.
I hear “Super” Sam Fuld isn’t doing much these days, I am sure he’d be willing to play for a MLB minimum contract.
Mallex Smith is still playing in the Mexian Leagues. At least he’s super fast and could also steal some bases, hit some triples and doubles whenever his bat manages to find the ball.
He can’t hit but he’s FAST! Yeah that works so well. With the new rules Rickey would steal 250 a year.
Maybe the Orioles should lobby MLB to decide extra innings with a 4x100m relay.