The Pirates made their second waiver pickup of the week Friday, claiming outfielder Greg Allen from the Yankees, the team announced.
Allen, 28, only had 48 plate appearances in the majors this season -- where he slashed .270/.417/.432 with five stolen bases in as many attempts -- but he excelled with the Yankees’ Class AAA affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In 73 games, he slashed .326/.442/.465 with five home runs, 13 doubles and 26 stolen bases in 28 attempts.
He has played all three outfield positions in the majors, and while most of it has come in center, he has been worth -11 defensive runs saved there.
In 666 career major league plate appearances over four seasons, Allen has hit .241 with eight home runs and 37 stolen bases.
The switch-hitter was included on the Yankees’ postseason roster for their wild card round loss to the Red Sox.
This past season was Allen’s first with the Yankees. Originally taken by Cleveland in the sixth round of the 2014 amateur draft, Allen was included in a trade deadline deal with the Padres that included Mike Clevinger in 2020.
The Yankees picked him up after the Padres designated him for assignment the following offseason.
The Pirates do not have to make a corresponding roster move yet, but will need to activate players from the 60-day injured list and reduce their roster down to 40 players by Sunday. At the moment, they currently have 47.
On Wednesday, the Pirates claimed right-hander Eric Hanhold from the Orioles.
For the Pirates, Allen will be joining an outfield unit that has nothing set in stone outside of center fielder Bryan Reynolds. Anthony Alford and Ben Gamel received the majority of the playing time at the corners down the stretch, and the club has interest in bringing back Yoshi Tsutsugo, who also played some right field for them.
