The Yankees announced Thursday that they’ve signed free-agent outfielder Kole Calhoun to a minor league contract. Calhoun, a client of PSI Sports Management, spent spring training with the Mariners but opted out of his minor league deal late in camp.
Calhoun, 35, hit .250/.314/.281 in 35 trips to the plate with Seattle this spring and is looking to rebound from a tough pair of seasons in 2021-22. Over that two-year span, the longtime Angels right fielder slashed just .208/.269/.343 in 606 trips to the plate between the Diamondbacks and the Rangers.
Prior to that ugly stretch, however, Calhoun was a generally productive regular (mostly in Anaheim but also with the 2020 Diamondbacks). From 2013-20, he posted a combined .249/.324/.431 batting line (106 wRC+) while regularly playing solid defense and providing a bit of value on the bases. At his best, Calhoun would walk in around 10% of his plate appearances with a lower-than-average 21% strikeout rate, although those rates cratered in 2021-22, when he walked at a 6.9% clip against a dismal 29.2% strikeout rate.
Calhoun does have a 33-homer season to his credit, though it came in the juiced-ball season back in 2019. His career-high outside that year is 26 back in 2015, and he averaged about 20 round-trippers per year — even popping 16 big flies in 54 games with the D-backs during the shortened 2020 campaign. He has a Gold Glove to his credit (2015), though as his defensive ratings have dipped in his mid-30s, his overall career numbers in 9240 innings of right field work have dipped a bit below average. He carries a career total of -4 Defensive Runs Saved, for instance.
Yankee corner outfielders have been unproductive on the whole this season, as Aaron Judge has spent the bulk of his time in center for a second straight season. Oswaldo Cabrera, Aaron Hicks and Franchy Cordero have combined to hit .219/.275/.297 while serving as Yankee left fielders, and the quintet of Cordero, Judge, Cabrera, Giancarlo Stanton and Willie Calhoun have combined to bat .191/.222/.441 while playing right field (thanks largely to an early power surge from Cordero). Even with Judge raking and Cordero hitting four home runs before falling into a lengthy slump, Yankees outfielders have combined for a .226/.282/.426 batting line thus far. And Stanton, who’s batted .269/.296/.558 with four homers this year, is now on the shelf for upwards of six weeks.
The newly signed Calhoun may not ultimately prove to make an impact — two full seasons have elapsed since his last productive showing — but it’s hardly a surprise to see the Yankees adding some affordable depth, given Stanton’s injury and the general level of struggles they’ve seen from their current corner options. The Yankees assigned him to their Florida Complex League squad to get back up to speed after nearly a month away from game action, but presumably Calhoun will be in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before long.
Surprised the Mets didn’t sign this guy their outfield is atrocious Lolmets
Lolmets? (Them?
Lilmutt (you)
Cashman gets lump of Cole
Two!!! Two Calhouns!!
Taking a page from the 2022 Rangers’ book.
i like the this move by yankees he’s can hit 10 homerun easy and 40 or 50 rib
nice from the bench this guy will make a big difference for good
Always thought his name sounded like a gunslinger from the Wild West.
Have gun will travel, before Brandon tries to took them off from you Gringos!!!
Tries*
Takes*
More back up for the inevitable Hicks injury.
At this point it’s a blessing in disguise when he visits the IL.
Also, you have a marvelous account name. I still have that poster from the 80s.
Kole has around 40 million reasons to go open market if the Yankees don’t stick with the contract.
Good for the Red Baron. His defense is awesome and he has a cannon for an arm. His bat is playable.
Arm and defense are old. I like him too, but we admit time never loses? He was always poor man’s Alex Gordon, right?
Yeah I’d bat him at least 5th in my backyard wiffle ball game.
I think it would be nice to see the Calhoun brothers on the same team.
And the Ckole bros too!!!
Lefty bat that can get some pop, and with that short porch in Yankee stadium, it’s a no brainer really.
José Treviño!
Calhoun in…Hicks out?
Git ‘er done!
He’s a nice guy but he was horrible for the Rangers.
I guess you can’t have enough Calhouns
Hope Cashman eventually stops looking to catch lightning in a bottle and acquires a real solid lefty hitting OFer. Meanwhile 12-7 with all of their injuries is fantastic, be very happily surprised if they can keep it up.
Don’t know many Calhouns.
But I’ve been to Kowloon.