Two Minor-League Signings Build Cubs Outfield Depth—But For Which Reason?

The Cubs signed outfielders Greg Allen and Travis Jankowski to minor-league deals Friday, and both players are reporting to big-league camp. Both are 30-something guys with very little power and ample speed. Jankowski, who will turn 34 in June, hit an appalling .200/.266/.242 in 2024 and became a non-entity for the not-so-defending champion Rangers. For his career, however, he's a more palatable .236/.319/.305 hitter, getting most of his value from good outfield defense and baserunning. Every two or three years, he's been a useful hitter with a plus OBP, even if it still comes with virtually no power.

Allen, who will turn 32 in March, didn't even play in the majors last year. He's batted .231/.300/.340 for his career, in less than half as much playing time as Jankowski has scraped together, but other than that bit more power and less plate discipline, he's largely the same player. Both guys have lots of baserunning utility. Jankowski has 30 steals and has been caught just twice since the start of 2023, while Allen has 43 swipes in 47 tries—but with almost all of those coming in the minors.

The two might look vaguely like candidates to back up Pete Crow-Armstrong in center field, but in fact, they've each spent most of their big-league time the last few years in corner spots (most often left). Neither has any real value in that spot in the majors, except as emergency backups. Surely, the reasons why each of them were willing to sign with the Cubs had to do with the lack of an obvious backup to Crow-Armstrong out there, but the reasons why the Cubs wanted them seem a bit less encouraging.

Outfielder Owen Caissie will be shut down for a little while yet, as he deals with a groin strain. After Caissie underwent core surgery last October, his trade value was dinged all offseason, constraining the Cubs at times as they sought trade avenues to upgrade their prospective 2025 roster. If the opt-outs in Jankowski and Allen's deals aren't too early for it, they probably figure to start in the outfield in Iowa this spring, trying to establish position and be ready should the team need a replacement for multiple outfielders at once.

Short of that, it's unlikely that either player makes it to the Cubs, because even early in camp, Kevin Alcánatara is making big waves. He's likely to be the team's de facto backup center fielder, though he, too, will begin the season in Iowa. The team's goal might be to develop him patiently, so perhaps an early injury and solid performance from one of the veterans could prompt them to call upon them instead of Alcántara. By midseason, though, they'll be hoping that Alcántara is forcing his way to the bigs, and only a spate of injuries figures to be capable of vaulting Jankowski or Allen to the big leagues at that point.

There's nothing wrong with depth moves like these. They're bad news, because at least one of the two would be in some other camp right now if Caissie were healthy—just as Chris Flexen would be elsewhere if Brandon Birdsell weren't dealing with a shoulder problem. Once injuries like those crop up, a team has to deal with them, and the Cubs are working hard to keep some viable options in play, should they be left suddenly without one of their key contributors. Their dedication to depth this winter continues into the spring.