The A’s have 15 million reasons to root for Nick Allen in 2022

The sooner Nick Allen can get up to Oakland, the better it’ll be for the team’s books in 2023.  

The 23-year-old shortstop prospect is currently ranked as the A’s No. 5 prospect by MLB.com and there’s a very good chance he could make his big league debut this season. Always known for his glovework, Allen earned a promotion to Triple-A last year after helping Team USA win a silver medal in Tokyo. He had a tough first month at the plate with the Las Vegas Aviators, but finished on something of a heater. In his final 13 games of the campaign, Allen slashed .377/.393/.472 with five doubles, five RBI, two walks and 10 strikeouts. Last August, I interviewed Allen about his transition to AAA and how it felt to be a starter at the Olympics.

Listed at 5-foot-8, 166 pounds with the physical features of a high schooler, he’ll probably never be a power guy at the plate. But Allen hit a triple for the second straight contest in Saturday night’s 9-3 Cactus League loss to the Reds, which is what the A’s front office wants to see.

Nick Allen TRIPLE! pic.twitter.com/kMsK2dZDfG

— Kim C (@Cu_As) March 20, 2022

Allen’s bat is probably the only thing holding him back from a big league call-up at this point. They also have financial incentive to bring him up this season and cut into Elvis Andrus’ playing time at shortstop.

According to Spotrac, Andrus’ $15 million option for 2023 automatically guarantees if he makes 550 plate appearances this season. Andrus made 541 plate appearances last season while playing in 146 games. By Opening Day 2023, Andrus will be 34 years old. You can be sure that the A’s don’t want to be on the hook for that $15 million if they don’t have to be.

Andrus started off the 2021 season as one of baseball’s worst hitters. Through the first two months of the season, Andrus slashed .202/.244/.250 with six doubles, a triple, seven RBIs, 10 walks and 32 strikeouts. From June through September he looked more like himself, with a .264/.318/.356 slash line, 19 doubles, three dingers, 30 RBI, 21 walks and 49 strikeouts. His defense was actually fine and his body held up despite previous back problems. But with his 73 OPS+ last season, average exit velocity in the 23rd percentile and barrel percentage in bottom 4 percentile, it’s hard to justify a $15 million salary from Andrus at this point of his career. 

He remains an immensely important part to the 2022 squad. Almost by default, this clubhouse has become his. With the departures of Matt Chapman, Matt Olson and Chris Bassitt — Sean Manaea and Chad Pinder are the Oakland OGs in the locker room, but Andrus is the team’s most experienced and venerated veteran. In some footage shared by the A’s this Spring Training, Andrus can be seen holding court with dozens of players listening to his advice. He’s almost like a bonus player-coach for first-year manager Mark Kotsay at this point.

Father Time waits for no man, though. If Allen can keep up his offensive production at the plate in the hitter-friendly AAA West this spring, he should get a promotion to Oakland this summer. The A’s likely won’t be in the pennant race and this season will be about developing the next core. Allen is the shortstop of the future if/until 2021 first-rounder Max Muncy makes his way up the ranks, but that still seems a few years off, at best. Another interesting thing to note is that the A’s have been splitting Allen’s time between shortstop and second base. Perhaps Allen can vault in front of Vimael Machin as the team’s top backup second baseman behind Tony Kemp this season as well. 

This is a big season for Allen and the front office has 15 million reasons to root for him.