Athletics' Nick Allen: Swats pair of doubles Sunday
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Allen went 2-for-4 with two doubles in a loss to the White Sox on Sunday.
Drawing only his second start in the last six games, Allen connected for his first extra-base hits at the big-league level since April 25. The 25-year-old infielder has been back up with the Athletics since late August, but he's drawn only 16 plate appearances across seven games overall since returning. Allen has made appearances at each infield position except first base this season, yet the good health the A's are enjoying down the stretch leave very few paths to playing time for him.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Singles, scores in return to majors
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Allen went 1-for-4 with a run in a loss to the Reds on Thursday.
Allen had been summoned from Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday, but Thursday marked his first taste of big-league game action since May 1. The 25-year-old infielder drew the start at shortstop Thursday, but it remains to be seen how much playing time the typically light-hitting Allen will see down the stretch with the A's expected to give Jacob Wilson a long look.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Back in majors
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The Athletics recalled Allen from Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Allen earned the promotion after putting up a 1.136 OPS with five home runs and seven stolen bases in August. He has managed a lowly .210/.256/.284 batting line in parts of three seasons with the Athletics, and with Jacob Wilson, Zack Gelof and likely Max Schuemann ahead of him in the pecking order in the infield, Allen may be in store for sparse playing time over the final month of the campaign.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Swinging hot bat at Vegas
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Allen owns a .420 average and 1.055 OPS over 80 plate appearances in 17 games with Triple-A Las Vegas since being optioned May 3.
Allen has eight extra-base hits (six doubles, one triple, one home run), 12 RBI, eight walks, two steals, a hit-by-pitch and 16 runs, making it an all-around dominant showing for the previously struggling shortstop. Allen has also upped his walk rate from a 6.5 percent figure he'd mustered during his time with the Athletics to 10.0 percent, while his strikeout rate has seen a welcome reduction from 24.7 percent to a modest 15.0 percent. Nevertheless, the A's already saw this type of drastic dichotomy from Allen last season, when he thrived in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but produced strikingly different numbers at the major-league level. With Max Schuemann putting together a solid showing (.261 average, .709 OPS) at shortstop with the big-league club, Allen doesn't appear to have a viable path for a return to the Athletics for the time being.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Optioned to Las Vegas
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The Athletics optioned Allen to Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday.
Allen will return to the minors after slashing .171/.227/.243 across 77 plate appearances to begin the season. The 25-year-old infielder may return to Oakland if he's able to replicate his .939 Triple-A OPS from last year, but his reputation as an offensive liability in the majors could make the team hesitant to call him back up.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Sitting again versus righty
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Allen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles.
For the second time in three games, Allen will hit the bench against a right-handed starting pitcher (Albert Suarez) while Darell Hernaiz checks in for him at shortstop. Allen is the more established big-league player of the two shortstops, but given that he posted a lowly .550 OPS over 329 plate appearances in 2023 and is off to an even worse start in 2024 (.490 OPS In 73 plate appearances), the Athletics could be motivated to give the rookie Hernaiz an extended look at the position.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Steps out of lineup
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Allen is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Orioles.
Allen started the previous eight games but will take a seat after going 5-for-22 with a solo home run during that stretch. Darell Hernaiz will step in at shortstop and bat seventh Friday.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Belts first homer Thursday
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Allen went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in a win over the Yankees on Thursday.
The light-hitting shortstop squared up a Nestor Cortes offering in the third inning to erase an early 1-0 deficit for Oakland. Allen's round tripper was his first of the season, and his first extra-base hit since March 31. The 25-year-old's season slash line is still a miserable .171/.216/.229, but Allen has hit safely in four of his last five games.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Recaptures regular role
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Allen will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Monday's game against the Yankees, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
Allen had begun to fade into a part-time role early last week, but he appears to have since regained a foothold as the Athletics' everyday shortstop after rookie Darell Hernaiz was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday. He's now picked up a fifth straight start at shortstop, but Allen still isn't an enticing fantasy option in spite of the increased stability with his playing time. Through 58 plate appearances this season, Allen is slashing .170/.241/.208 with zero home runs or stolen bases.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Losing work to Hernaiz
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Allen will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.
Though he's back in the lineup against Cardinals southpaw Steven Matz, Allen had been withheld from the starting nine in each of the past three games, when the opposition brought right-handed pitchers to the hill. Allen looks to have moved into the short side of a platoon at shortstop with Darell Hernaiz.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: On bench Sunday
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Allen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.
Allen will head to the bench for the second time in four games after a 1-for-4 showing at the plate in Saturday's 3-1 loss actually improved to his season-long slash line to a woeful .167/.205/.214 over 44 plate appearances. Darell Hernaiz will get a start at shortstop and could be pushing Allen for primary duties at the position.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Starts season hot
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Allen went 2-for-4 with a double and a run in a loss to the Guardians on Friday.
Allen put together a solid spring during which he appeared to have made strides at the plate, mustering a .261 average and .922 OPS across 27 plate appearances. The young shortstop has been swinging an even hotter bat to start the regular season, with Friday's multi-hit effort preceded by an Opening Day single in three plate appearances. Allen also closed out the 2023 campaign with a .385 average over his final nine games, so it's conceivable the 25-year-old has somewhat turned the corner against big-league arms heading into what should be his third extended stint in the majors.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Starts at shortstop in return
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Allen (back) started at shortstop in a Cactus League tie with the Diamondbacks on Monday and went 0-for-2 with a walk.
The game marked Allen's first game action since March 1 due to a back strain. The fact he was able to jump right back into playing defense was certainly encouraging, and Allen appears set to play out the string of remaining Cactus League games before opening the season as the everyday shortstop.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Re-enters Cactus League lineup
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Allen (back) will start at shortstop and bat leadoff Monday in the Athletics' Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks.
Allen likely isn't a serious candidate to handle leadoff duties once the regular season gets underway, but Oakland presumably wants him to get in as many competitive at-bats as he can to close out the spring after a back strain had kept him out of Cactus League action since March 1. The shortstop checked out fine after participating in a minor-league game Sunday, so he'll be playing for the second consecutive day as he readies himself for the start of the regular season. Though he emerged as an everyday player for Oakland by the end of the 2023 campaign, Allen wasn't an appealing fantasy option, as he batted just .221 with four home runs, five stolen bases, 29 runs and 20 RBI over his 329 plate appearances.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Playing in minor-league game
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Allen (back) is participating in a minor-league game Sunday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
The 25-year-old hasn't seen Cactus League play since March 1 due to a mild back strain, but he's now on the cusp of returning to action. Allen is expected to begin the season as Oakland's primary shortstop, and he appears on track to be ready for Opening Day.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Sees specialist Friday
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Allen (back) saw a specialist in Arizona on Friday and remains without a firm timetable for a return to game action, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
The young shortstop last saw Cactus League action March 1 due to what has been described as a mild back strain. However, the issue has lingered enough for Allen to have to seek out a medical consultation. Allen received some treatment Friday, and the Athletics remain hopeful he'll be able to resume baseball activities Monday with a return to game action shortly thereafter.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Nursing back strain
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Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said Wednesday that Allen is currently sidelined with a mild back strain, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
Allen hasn't played in a Cactus League game since March 1 due to the back issue. The Athletics haven't provided an indication of when Allen might be ready to return to the spring lineup, but the team seems to be viewing his injury as a day-to-day concern. If healthy, Allen is the favorite to open the season as the Athletics' primary shortstop.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Finishes season on positive note
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Allen went 3-for-4 with an RBI single, a double and a run in a loss to the Angels on Sunday.
Allen headed into the offseason on a high note with his fourth three-hit game of the season and 10th multi-hit tally of the campaign overall. The 24-year-old's .221/.263/.287 slash line at the big-league level this season naturally left plenty to be desired, although Allen did slightly improve on the .207 batting average and .256 OBP he'd produced in his rookie 2022 campaign. Allen did at least seem to be making solid strides over the final week-plus, as he hit .385 (10-for-26) with Sunday's double, a triple, two RBI, two walks and four runs in his last nine games.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Hits second career triple Wednesday
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Allen went 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk in a loss to the Twins on Wednesday.
Allen's three-bagger was the second of the season and his career, and it extended a brief but encouraging stretch of the plate for the young shortstop. The 24-year-old has hit safely in four consecutive starts, going 5-for-13 with a pair of walks and two runs in addition to Wednesday's three-bagger across 15 plate appearances in that span.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Productive out of bottom of order
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Allen went 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs in a win over the Tigers on Saturday.
Allen was able to set the table nicely for both Esteury Ruiz and Ryan Noda out of his No. 8 spot in the order, coming across to score on the former's third-inning home run and the latter's eighth-inning double. The young shortstop's season slash line is still sitting at an unsightly .208/.252/.269, however, and he has just a single extra-base hit, a double, over his last 22 games.
