There’s really no reason NOT to stack up on as many depth pieces here at the outset of Spring Training, particularly when guys with big-league experience and some positional flexibility can be had on minor-league deals. That is to say, I have no serious reaction either way to the Cubs signing journeyman outfielder Greg Allen to a minor-league deal with an invite to big-league camp.
Cubs Sign Greg Allen
Maddie Lee of the Sun-Times has the scoop:
Greg Allen is joining the Cubs on a minor-league deal with an invite to big-league spring training camp, per sources. He was in the Cubs clubhouse this morning.
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) February 21, 2025Greg Allen, 30, has played in parts of seven seasons with four different teams (Guardians, Padres, Yankees, Pirates) thus far in his career, mixing in work across the outfield, including center field. He’s also a switch hitter with historically above-average speed (28.8 feet per second sprint speed, which is around the top 100 runners in baseball).
Offensively, Greg Allen has never quite put it all together at the big leagues for any meaningful stretch of time – he doesn’t walk enough and he strikes out way too often – but between his defensive versatility and base running, he’s made a career for himself. He also happens to be a much better hitter against righties than lefties, but that’s mostly because he’s pretty much unplayable against lefties.
But why did the Cubs sign an outfielder, at all, given that their big-league team has four starting outfielders (Happ, PCA, Tucker, Suzuki) and their Triple-A team has Kevin Alcantara and Owen Caissie next in line? I mean, hell, they just DFA’d outfielder and borderline prospect Alexander Canario yesterday! Well, the easy and probably more correct answer is what I said above: you don’t have much to lose by signing guys to minor league deals, so get guys you like, see how they look in Spring Training, and build up some depth as needed.
The more concerning angle, though I’m not sure how much I really buy it, is that maybe the injury to Owen Caissie (a lefty-hitting outfielder who could reasonably be expected to contribute against some righties this season) is looking a little worse than we thought? Just yesterday, the Cubs revealed that Caissie has been slowed by left groin tightness, so maybe this is just a little extra depth in the left-handed hitting outfield tree?
I guess it’s possible, but that concern (and thus this reaction) seems a little premature, especially given the other outfielders who could step in as needed.
So, yeah, ultimately, I think this is just your run-of-the-mill depth signing on a no-risk minor league deal. Maybe Greg Allen will stick around, maybe he’ll opt out … who knows. For now, there’s nothing to lose by having him, and that’s reason enough for me.
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