USATSI
The New York Yankees acquired veteran outfielder Greg Allen from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for right-hander Diego Hernandez and cash on Friday night, the teams announced. Allen is expected to be included in the Yankees’ active roster ahead of Saturday afternoon’s game, manager Aaron Boone told reporters.
Allen, 30, will begin his second stint with the Yankees organization. He previously spent the 2021 season in pinstripes, appearing in 15 games and averaging a 136 OPS+. Allen has appeared in 282 total major league games while averaging a .232/.299/.336 slash line (71 OPS+) with 10 homers and 45 stolen bases. He has spent this season in Triple-A and posted a .795 OPS with 23 stolen bases (on 23 attempts).
“Switch-hitter,” Boone told The Athletic, explaining why they liked Allen. “Versatility. Good in the role. can run He steals a lot of bases in triple-A. He’s very good at that too. He has played here before.”
The Yankees need to make room on their active roster to add Allen into the mix. New York has three outfielders in Aaron Hicks, Willie Calhoun and Jake Bauers who seem to be compelling candidates. Hicks has been the worst performer of the trio but his contract could spare him. Both Calhoun and Bauers have no options. The Yankees could theoretically demote struggling young Oswaldo Cabrera. However, given his defensive versatility (he’s started in a different position in each of the last three games), he seems a good fit on the bench.
The 18-year-old Hernandez played 12 games last season for the Yankees’ affiliate, the Dominican Summer League. In those competitions, he posted a 2.10 ERA and a 3.43 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He was not ranked by Baseball America as a top 30 candidate in the system.
The Yankees and Red Sox rarely trade with each other. This is the first trade since the Red Sox acquired Adam Ottavino in January 2021. That deal was the first since 2014 (Stephen Drew for Kelly Johnson) and the first since 1997, when the Yankees sent Tony Armas and Jim Mecir to Boston Mike Stanley and Randy Brown.