Minnesota Twins, Where are They Now: Chad Allen
By Ben Noble
The son of a former NFL DB, Chad Allen was drafted by the Twins in the fourth round out of Texas A&M in 1996, won an Olympic medal later that summer, then made the jump from AA to become the Twins left fielder three years later. Marty Cordova was primarily a DH that year, and Allen’s debut season–10 HR, 14 SB, .277 AVG–suggested he could develop into a solid all-around player. However, over the course of the remaining six seasons of his MLB career combined, he totaled less than the 137 games he played for the Twins that season, essentially spending 2000-2006 in AAA.
Last we saw him…
Probably due to his less-than-stellar defense, Allen was sent to AAA to begin 2000 and the Soul Patrol of Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones and Matt Lawton took over the outfield. In mid-August of 2001, he tore his ACL in the 11th inning while playing right field against the Indians. He left as a free agent to sign with the Orioles four days before Opening Day 2002, playing eight games with the then Baltimore-affiliated Rochester Red Wings before being released.
Allen finished out 2002 with the Cleveland organization, mostly in AAA, then bounced around the minors playing for the Marlins, Rangers, Cardinals, Rangers and Royals. He played in 58 MLB games for three franchises after leaving the Twins.
In 2007, he went to play in Japan against fellow former Twin Brian Buchanan, his last professional baseball stop.
A couple of months after the Japanese season ended, Allen was named in the Mitchell Report on steroids in baseball. He cut a deal with U.S. authorities, providing information about companies selling PEDs online, and claimed he only used steroids himself during the offseason to help his injured knee recover. He also claimed to have seen former teammate Gary Matthews, Jr. in possession of syringes.
What he’s doing now
Like former Twins and AAA Salt Lake teammate Buchanan, Allen has gone into minor league coaching. He was hired this winter as the Twins hitting coach for AA New Britain, a team Allen played 167 games for over two seasons. It’s his first taste of coaching at any level, and he may have his work cut out for him this season: top prospects Oswaldo Arcia, Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario are all candidates to see time at New Britain at some point this season.
You can read up on fellow former Twin Brian Buchanan here.
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