Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun missed nearly three months of the 2021 season after suffering a broken arm upon being hit by a pitch, but he’s expected to return to the lineup this week, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The club has 18 games left to get a look at Calhoun before determining whether to tender him a contract in arbitration this winter, and manager Chris Woodward offered no certainties when discussing Calhoun’s future. “Unfortunately, he hasn’t played enough for us to really evaluate him,” Woodward said (via Grant). “So, we may have to make a really tough decision one way or the other. We’re going to have to kind of go out on a limb.”
Calhoun, 27 this offseason, was the headlining prospect the Rangers received from the Dodgers in 2017’s Yu Darvish trade. He’s yet to establish himself as a consistently productive hitter, however, and was batting a rather pedestrian .254/.323/.385 in 226 plate appearances before heading to the injured list. Calhoun’s lack of playing time and career .248/.304/.418 batting line to date will limit his arbitration price. That, coupled with the fact that he has a minor league option remaining in 2022, could be a saving grace. So long as the Rangers don’t mind carrying him on the 40-man roster, there’s little downside in tendering him a contract, but Woodward’s mention of a “tough decision” appears to indicate that there’s at least some debate on how to proceed.
Some more notes from the division…
- Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez is getting increased defensive reps in at first base and could begin seeing time there in games, manager Dusty Baker told reporters this week (link via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Alvarez, 24, played some first base in the minors but hasn’t appeared there in the Majors yet. He’s only played 317 innings of defense since debuting in 2019 — all of which have come in left field. The ’Stros have Yuli Gurriel as their everyday option at first base, and his $8MM club option for the 2022 season is a no-brainer to be exercised after a terrific 2021 season. Still, getting Alvarez some work at first would provide a safety net should Gurriel need to miss time and would also give the Astros an option on days where they hope to rest Gurriel, who’ll turn 38 next June. Looking beyond the ’22 campaign, at which point Gurriel will be a free agent, it’d obviously be a bonus if the ’Stros felt comfortable playing Alvarez at first base on at least a part-time basis. Given the knee troubles he’s already had in his career, Alvarez might not be a full-time option either in left field or at first base for Houston, but the more ways they have to keep him and his outstanding career .293/.375/.584 batting line (906 plate appearances) in the lineup, the better.
- Mariners catcher Tom Murphy chatted with Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times about his rebound from an awful start to the year — a stretch he called “the lowest point in my baseball career.” Murphy’s roster spot looked to be in jeopardy at one point, but he’s rebounded since mid-May, hitting .236/.346/.408 with eight homers in his past 208 trips to the plate. His season line still rests at an ugly .205/.304/.373, but that’s weighed down by those first six weeks. Murphy didn’t play in 2020 after fouling a ball into his foot and suffering a fracture during Mariners “Summer Camp,” so the slow start after such a long layoff is somewhat understandable. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for a second time this winter, giving the Mariners three potential options behind the dish alongside Luis Torrens and prospect Cal Raleigh. Had Murphy’s struggles continued, he’d have been a clear non-tender candidate. That possibility can’t be expressly ruled out even with the rebound, but the forthcoming raise on his modest $875K salary figures to be relatively minimal. Murphy hit .273/.324/.535 in 281 plate appearances with the Mariners back in 2019.
.205/.304/.373 (91 OPS+) ain’t *that* ugly for a catcher.
You’re correct. The average OPS+ for a catcher can fluctuate from year to year, but it sits about 88-90. Considering his slow start and upside, he’s not being non-tendered.
Hes getting tendered. Hes good defensively and hits enough. Even if he doesn’t hit like 2019 he’s a fine backup catcher and insurance in case Raleigh isn’t doing the job or goes down. If they get closer to the 2019 vintage that’s just bonus. It would cost double what he’s going to get in arbitration to get a backup catcher that might not even be as good.
I hope they trade him and sign a better defensive catcher.
I guess everything is relative, but in this day and age .254 is not a bad BA. If TEX nontenders Calhoun he’ll be snatched up quickly by a team like the A’s for sure. Do the Rangers really have ML ready prospects better than him ready to step in?
If Calhoun was on the Mets, they would likely give him a QO. Not a much different line than Conforto, but younger, so more upside.
I think they will probably give him a shot to be the DH next year. Not much room left in the outfield though. DJ Peters has hit enough to be the starter in left next year, at least going into camp anyway
If the Rangers non-tender Calhoun, Bob Nutting would be salivating to get that level of just respectable enough production with the glimmer of hope for more to justify a roster spot at a salary that might not even crack the million dollar mark.
Gurriel brothers need new agents
They definitely left some money on the table.
Most everyone said the Astros were crazy to give Yuli even that much money at the time… something something only hits with trash cans yadda yadda.
Murphy will get a good paycheck if he gets non tendered. 1yr deal w/ and AL/NL Central team for sure
One of the bonehead moves by Andrew Friedman. Alvarez for Josh Fields. Dodgers seem adroit at such moves.
Pedro Martinez for friggen DeLino DeShields.
Roberto Clemente for no one.
Mike Piazza for a couple of years of Sheffield.
Spanning about five decades with your cherry picking of bad deals there bud. Every team makes mistakes and has what if scenarios. I think the Dodgers are doing alright in the here and now.
When they traded Alvarez, he was a DH only 16 year old who had questionable long term power and he had never played a game in the US. And that got them 3+ seasons of Fields. Props to him for growing into his potential, of course. And this is why Friedman doesn’t pay big prospect capital for relievers every year Id argue.
If your “worst” deal as an NL GM is trading a 16 year old DH with a questionable bat, who blossoms, you’re doing pretty darn good at assessing most talent coming into the organization
He was a prospect, but “questionable bat” was never mentioned.
Hi, Mets fan here. Fregosi. When you can top that, let me know. That is all.
And Fields gave up some big hits in the 2017 WS. A 100% win for Houston. But, every team has had bad trades over the years.
Hearing anyone from the Rangers Camp talk about tough decisions is laughable. That 40 man roster is comprised of 90% of guys who would not sniff any respectable, competitive team’s 40 man. 5 years into a rebuild and the Rangers are paying twice as much in total to guys who play for other teams than they are for the seeds and stems left on this disgrace of a roster.