Ex-Yankees Outfielder Signs With Red Sox As Much-Needed Depth Piece

Boston needed an extra outfielder

Scott Neville | Jan 11, 2023

Ex-Yankees Outfielder Signs With Red Sox As Much-Needed Depth Piece /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox made a depth move by signing a former New York Yankees outfielder who provided a boost for his new rivals during the 2021 season.

While middle infield depth and starting pitching remain the priorities, Boston could use a boost in the outfield, and has identified a potential candidate to do so.

"Sources confirm the Red Sox are closing in on a minor-league deal with outfielder Greg Allen," MassLive's Chris Cotillo tweeted Wednesday.

Allen is a classic example of a "Four-A player" in the sense that he rakes in the minors but has not been able to get his bat to translate to Major League Baseball.

The 29-year-old is a career .232 hitter with 47 extra-base hits including 10 home runs, 67 RBIs and a .635 OPS in 282 games at the MLB level.

In Triple-A, Allen has hit .301 with a .845 OPS over the course of 172 career games.

While an offensive breakout is far from expected, Allen is a plus defender with base-stealing speed and experience playing for a big-market team.

The veteran journeyman also is a switch hitter.

Overall, Allen is not going to be the addition that takes the Red Sox over the hump, but he's not signed to be either. His exclusion from the 40-man roster means this signing does not inhibit Boston from adding more talent elsewhere.

Hopefully, Allen has a big moment or two against the Yankees, allowing Red Sox fans to have a little ammo for what is shaping up to be an unbalanced era of the historic rivalry.

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Published Jan 11, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu