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.