Nick

Allen

Allen is known for his glove, but he’s 8-for-17 this spring. He’s almost certainly going to make the Braves as Orlando Arcia’s backup at shortstop. Manager Brian Snitker hates ever taking his infielders out of the lineup, but as poor as Arcia was offensively last year, it might make sense to play Allen once a week or so.

Allen underwhelmed in his brief time with the Athletics over the last three seasons, batting .209/.254/.283 with nine homers and eight steals in 247 plate appearances in 247 games. The 26-year-old middle infielder fortifies Atlanta’s organizational depth at the Triple-A level heading into 2025, but he’s a complete non-factor for fantasy purposes.

Allen very much earned another chance with the A’s by hitting .345/.431/.397 in 81 games in Triple-A, but it’s incredible that the team decided to give it to him one day after activating Jacob Wilson from the injured list. Allen went 1-for-4 in his second day back in the majors on Aug. 29, and he’s totaled one at-bat since. Max Schuemann has been slumping badly for over a month now (.137/.239/.177 in his last 34 games), so maybe Allen could start over him every once in a while.

With Miguel Andujar landing on the IL, the Athletics will bring up Allen, who was hitting .345/.431/.497 in 81 games at Triple-A with seven home runs and 16 steals. Allen has continued to produce in the minors but struggled when given a shot in the big leagues, but Allen should operate as a bench infielder for the time being.

Andujar has been out of the lineup for the last two days, so the designation is back-dated to August 25th. While Andujar has been sidelined, Daz Cameron has stepped in as the starter in left field, and so he should continue to see those starts with Andujar on the IL. Nick Allen was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

The 25-year-old infielder has struggled mightily at the plate this season, slashing a cringe-inducing .171/.227/.243 with one homer, three RBI, zero stolen bases and a 19/5 K/BB ratio over his first 77 plate appearances. He’ll look to get back on track at the Triple-A level. Brett Harris had his contract selected from Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move on Friday.

Gelof exploded onto the fantasy scene last year and will bat in the heart of Oakland’s lineup to kick off the 2024 campaign. Here’s the full lineup: Ryan Noda 1B, Gelof 2B, JJ Bleday CF, Brent Rooker DH, Seth Brown LF, J.D. Davis 3B, Shea Langeliers C, Lawrence Butler RF and Nick Allen SS.

Allen returns to Oakland’s lineup earlier this week for the first time since early March after missing time due to a mild back strain.

Allen appears likely to rejoin Oakland’s lineup in the next few days after missing time with a back strain. The 25-year-old shortstop visited a back specialist last week and apparently isn’t facing a lengthy absence.

There’s hope Allen will be ready to resume baseball activities after the weekend after receiving treatment on Friday to address a mild back strain. The 25-year-old is expected to open the year as Oakland’s primary shortstop, but back issues can be extremely complicated and tend to be lingering problems. There should be some clarity on his status at some point next week.