APRIL 30: Calhoun underwent surgery on his hamstring, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic tweets. He could miss six to eight weeks, general manager Mike Hazen announced (via Steve Gilbert of MLB.com).
APRIL 28: The Diamondbacks announced that they have placed outfielder Kole Calhoun and right-hander Taylor Widener on the 10-day injured list. They recalled catcher/outfielder Daulton Varsho and righty Riley Smith to fill the empty roster spots.
Calhoun suffered a left hamstring strain during the Diamondbacks’ win over the Padres on Tuesday, forcing him to leave early. This will already be the second IL stint of 2021 for Calhoun, who was unavailable to start the season after undergoing surgery on a torn right meniscus. Calhoun, who’s in the last season of a two-year, $16MM guarantee, has been one of Arizona’s top hitters since he joined the team. The ex-Angel had an impressive 2020 and has continued to fare well this season with a .292/.333/.479 line and a pair of home runs in 51 plate appearances.
Calhoun’s injury creates another opportunity for the 24-year-old Varsho, whom Baseball America ranks as the sport’s 60th-best prospect. Varsho, the 68th pick in the 2017 draft, debuted in the majors last year and batted .188/.277/.368 with three homers over 115 trips to the plate. He was far more productive during his most recent minor league action in 2019, when he slashed .301/.378/.520 with 18 HRs and 21 steals across 452 PA.
Widener’s heading to the shelf with a right groin strain, retroactive to April 25. The 26-year-old is tied for second on the Diamondbacks in starts (four) this season and has pitched to a 2.82 ERA with a 6.5 percent walk rate through 22 1/3 innings. However, Widener’s fielding-independent numbers – including a 4.52 SIERA, 4.73 FIP and 4.75 xFIP – aren’t as encouraging. Smith will start in Widener’s place Wednesday against the Padres.
Smith, Mathisen, Young, Heath, Varsho, Rojas, Bukauskas, and other Smith all have less than one year of service time. Then there’s Gallen, Crichton, Ginkel, Young, Clarke, and VanMeter with under two years. The injuries suck, but it’s nice to see where the MiLB guys are at.
I think Daulton Varsho is a huge sleeper pick. I don’t have any statistics, sabermetrics, or algorithms, but Darren Daulton was a catcher/outfielder as well and he had some great numbers. As long as Varsho isn’t as nutty as Darren Daulton was, I think he could have a similar career based on his name alone! That’s my expert analysis.
Kole startin’ to regret hiring James Paxton as his personal trainer
There are 3 guys named Smith, 2 guys named Kelly, and 2 more guys named Young on this team. Roughly 1/4 of all the players on the Snakes have one of these three names…weird
They need a Kelly Smith or Kelly Young. Any in the system?
How about Kelly Leak? I hear he’s pretty good.
Don’t forget Marte and Walker still out. This team can be pretty good when everyone comes back healthy. Scrappy now , as usual.
Well that escalated quickly
This injury really hurts the Dbacks. Their OF depth was suspect to begin the season, definitely the biggest weakness on the team. Which is why all those infielders started taking OF reps. Pavin Smith has emerged as a viable OF replacement, but with Christian Walker sidelined by injury Pavin is needed at 1b too, and can’t cover both positions. In the meantime, Heath is not the answer at CF, even for the short term, so Pavin has been used in CF as well…and he definitely can’t cover 3 positions.
Damn he can’t catch a break. Not a star but a nice player, body has started giving up
Too many bats are injured to keep this team competing. It’s amazing with their pitching underperforming to the extent they have that the team is above .500. That’s not a sustainable situation. But then again, the pitching is due for some significant regression in the positive sense.
Goodnight sweet prince.