The Mets have signed minor league free agent Brandon Allen and extended to him an invitation to spring training.
The Metsannounced that they have signed first baseman Brandon Allen to a minor league contract and given him an invitation to spring training. Allen is a career .278/.378/.524 hitter in Triple-A but hit only .267/.347/.478 for Tuscon in 2013. Allen has also played in 114 major league games, hitting .203/.290/.375 and striking out in 35.2% of his plate appearances. While Allen has spent the majority of his playing time at first base, he does have limited experience in the outfield.
Allen was the fifth round pick of the Chicago White Sox in the 2004 draft. He was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for relief pitcher Tony Pena. Allen was a well regarded prospect at one point; Baseball America ranked him as the sixth-best prospect in the White Sox' system after 2008 and fourth-best in the Diamondbacks' system after 2009.
Allen is a left-handed hitter, so the Mets are clearly not looking at him as a platoon partner for Ike Davis or Lucas Duda. It seems more likely that Allen will serve as minor league depth.