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Brandon Allen

Reds Outright Brandon Allen

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12:33pm: The Reds have outrighted Allen to Triple-A Louisville, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweets.

9:24am: The Reds have announced that they’ve designated first baseman and outfielder Brandon Allen for assignment. The move clears roster space for Tim Melville, who will start this afternoon.

Allen never actually made a plate appearance for the Reds. They signed him to a minor-league deal in November and selected his contract on Friday, but he did not appear in a game. The 30-year-old played for the Mets’ Triple-A team in Las Vegas last season, batting .273/.350/.478. He last played in the big leagues in 2012, and he compiled a .203/.290/.375 line in parts of four seasons in the bigs.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/8/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Athletics have formally selected the contract of left-hander Eric Surkamp, who will take the hill tonight against the Mariners in Seattle tonight. In corresponding moves, the team announced that first baseman/outfielder Andrew Lambo has been optioned to Triple-A, and right-hander R.J. Alvarez has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list (thus creating a 40-man roster spot). It was reported earlier this week that Surkamp, who enjoyed a strong Spring Training, would get the nod over Jesse Hahn today, but the corresponding 40-man move was not yet known.The 28-year-old Surkamp logged a 3.60 ERA with a 19-to-7 K/BB ratio in 20 spring innings and has a similarly solid track record at Triple-A, where he’s compiled a 3.61 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 across 264 innings. However, Surkamp hasn’t carried that success with him to the Majors, as evidenced by a lifetime 6.47 ERA in 57 innings between the Giants, White Sox and Dodgers.
  • The Reds announced today that they have selected the contract of first baseman Brandon Allen, who will join the big league club and replace right-hander Robert Stephenson, who was optioned to Triple-A following his MLB debut. (Stephenson was reportedly likely to make just one start in his brief callup.) Allen is a well-traveled minor league veteran and formerly well-regarded prospect that last appeared in the Majors with the 2012 Rays. The 30-year-old has excelled at the Triple-A level throughout his career, batting .276/.371/.502 in 624 games. However, he’s never experienced much success in the Majors, where his batting line is a substantially inferior .203/.290/.375 in 389 plate appearances. Allen has walked at nearly an 11 percent clip in the Majors, but he’s also punched out in more than a third of his plate appearances as well. Cincinnati does not need to make a corresponding move, as the club had an open spot on its 40-man roster.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/30/15

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Infielder Grant Green has signed a minor league deal with the Giants, reports Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (on Twitter). Green, 28, is a former first-round pick of the Athletics that hasn’t panned out as hoped. Traded to the Angels back in 2013, Green has amassed a .249/.283/.335 batting line in 300 Major League plate appearances, spending most of his time at second base. He’ll give the Giants some depth at second and in left field.
  • Eddy also tweets that the Reds have signed former big leaguer Brandon Allen to a minor league deal. The powerful first baseman hasn’t seen the Majors since 2012 and is a career .203/.290/.375 hitters in 389 PAs in the Majors. He’s crushed Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .276/.372/.502 batting line, however, making him a useful bat to stash at the team’s top minor league level.
  • The Indians announced that outfielder Michael Choice has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Columbus. The former top 100 prospect will be in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee come Spring Training. Choice, 26, was designated for assignment when the Indians claimed Kirby Yates off waivers from the Rays. He’s a career .188/.253/.320 hitter in 300 big league plate appearances but has a more palatable line of .271/.356/.426 in Triple-A.
  • The Red Sox have outrighted infielder Josh Rutledge to Triple-A Pawtucket, the team announced today. Rutledge, 26, was acquired from the Angels in exchange for Shane Victorino this past summer. He batted .284/.333/.338 in 85 PAs for the BoSox and is a career .261/.310/.398 hitter in the Majors, though some of that success is attributable to spending the early portion of his career playing his home games at Coors Field.

Minor Moves: Vasquez, Mejia, Allen, Wren, Owens

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Right-handers Esmerling Vasquez and Miguel Mejia have signed with the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball, MLBTR has learned. The 31-year-old Vasquez last appeared in the Majors with the Twins in 2012. He has a lifetime 4.86 ERA in 168 2/3 MLB innings. Mejia, meanwhile, has spent the past two seasons pitching in Taiwan’s top professional league and was with the Lamigo Monkeys last season.

More minor moves from around the league…

  • First baseman Brandon Allen has re-signed with the Mets, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York tweeted yesterday. The 28-year-old Allen, once considered a Top 100 prospect, hit .266/.368/.434 with the Mets at the Triple-A level last season.
  • The Brewers announced today that they’ve acquired outfielder Kyle Wren — the son of former Braves GM Frank Wren — from Atlanta in exchange for righty Zach Quintana. (W.G. Ramirez was the first to report Quintana’s trade earlier this week, on Twitter.) The 23-year-old Wren hit .290/.350/.360 between Class-A Advanced and Double-A last season, while Quintana struggled to a 5.70 ERA in 85 1/3 innings with Milwaukee’s Class-A affiliate. He was a third-round pick by the Brewers as recently as 2012, however.
  • Baseball America’s Matt Eddy has several minor league deals to report (All Twitter links). The Athletics have inked catcher Carson Blair and lefty Rudy Owens; the Marlins have signed righty Ryan Reid, lefty Pat Urckfitz and center fielder Kenny Wilson; and the Braves have signed right-hander Victor Mateo and lefty Francisco Rondon.

Mets Sign Brandon Allen

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Here are today's minor moves from around the league…

  • The Mets have signed first baseman Brandon Allen to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced on Twitter. Allen slashed .267/.347/.478 with 17 homers as a 27-year-old with the Padres' Triple-A affiliate in 2013. Once regarded as one of the best prospects in the White Sox organization, Allen has produced just a .203/.290/.375 slash line and 12 homers in 389 Major League plate appearances between the D-Backs, A's and Rays. He is represented by SFX.

Minor Moves: Burroughs, Henn, Allen, Gonzalez

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We'll keep track of Friday's minor moves right here…

  • Infielder Sean Burroughs has signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Burroughs last appeared in the Majors with the Twins in 2012 but was designated for assignment after just 18 plate appearances. The former top prospect returned to baseball in 2011.
  • Within that same tweet, Eddy notes that the Mets have signed left-hander Sean Henn to a minor league deal. The 31-year-old Henn's last big league action was split between the Twins and Orioles in 2009. He has a 7.56 ERA in 81 career innings with more walks (64) than strikeouts (62).
  • Still from Eddy's jam-packed tweet, the Padres have inked first baseman Brandon Allen to a minor league contract. The 27-year-old has a career .203/.290/.375 Major League batting line in 389 plate appearances.
  • The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Edgar Gonzalez has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo in order to make room for Casper Wells on the 40-man roster. Toronto claimed the 30-year-old Gonzalez off waivers just five days ago.
  • Suspended right-hander Mark Hamburger has signed with the independent league St. Paul Saints, writes Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (at the bottom of the article). The 26-year-old tested positive for an undisclosed drug last season. He has appeared in eight Major League innings for the Rangers with a 4.50 ERA and was once traded for Eddie Guardado.

Rangers Release Brandon Allen

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The Rangers have released Brandon Allen, according to the CBSSports.com transactions page.  The Rangers signed the first baseman to a minor league deal back in December.

Allen, 26, appeared in seven games for the Rays last season before being sold to Japan's Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.  In parts of four seasons at the Triple-A level, Allen owns a .283/.390/.543 batting line.

Rangers Sign Evan Meek, Randy Wells

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The Rangers signed reliever Evan Meek, starter Randy Wells, first baseman Brandon Allen, and starter Jake Brigham to minor league deals with invites, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Meek, 29, made the All-Star team during a 2.14 ERA campaign for the Pirates in 2010.  Since then, he's been limited by a shoulder injury.

Wells, 30, made 82 starts for the Cubs from 2009-11, even placing sixth in the NL Rookie of the Year vote in '09.  He spent much of this year struggling at Triple-A Iowa.

Allen, 26, never caught on in the Majors and spent the second half of this season in Japan.

Rays Sell Allen To Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

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The Rays have sold the rights of Brandon Allen to a Japanese team, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (on Twitter). They've sold his rights to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune reports (on Twitter).

Allen, 26, appeared in seven games for the Rays after Tampa Bay claimed him off of waivers from the Athletics. The Rays removed Allen from their roster in June and assigned him to Triple-A, a level at which he has a .283/.390/.543 batting line in parts of four seasons.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Allen, Satin

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The latest outright assignments…

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