The Angels announced the signing of outfielder Willie Calhoun to a non-roster contract. He’ll get an invitation to big league Spring Training.
Calhoun, now 29, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees last winter. He ended up getting selected to the big league roster and received semi-regular playing time in the first half. He was put into 44 games and took 149 trips to the plate. He only struck out in 13.4% of those but his overall line of .239/.309/.403 amounted to a wRC+ of 96.
That’s only a bit below league average overall but Calhoun is generally considered a subpar defender in the outfield and was often in the designated hitter slot for the Yanks. A DH is naturally expected to produce above-average offense, so Calhoun was designated for assignment and outrighted in July. He elected free agency and didn’t catch on anywhere else until today.
Prior to 2023, Calhoun had been a top 100 prospect as a minor leaguer due to his bat. Since reaching the majors, he has continued to be tough to strike out but he hasn’t tapped into enough power or got on base much. He now has 1,085 MLB plate appearances, striking out in just 15% of them, but he’s also only walked at a 7.4% clip and hit 37 home runs in that time. His .240/.300/.404 batting line translated to an 84 wRC+.
The Angels currently project to have an outfield mix that consists of Mike Trout, Taylor Ward, Mickey Moniak and Jo Adell. Both Trout and Ward have battled injuries in the past few years while Moniak still has just 151 games of MLB experience. Adell only has 178 games of his own and has struggled badly with strikeouts. The club also has a DH vacancy with Shohei Ohtani having reached free agency.
Calhoun will give the club some extra non-roster depth and try to force his way into that mix. If he is able to get himself a roster spot, he can be retained for an extra season via arbitration but he is out of options.
Nothing against Calhoun, but I am relieved the Yankees didn’t re-sign him. He’s got a surprising amount of pop for a Quadruple-A level player, but that’s about it.
Never been the same since taking that fastball to the face. I can’t say I blame him, but he was a promising prospect up until then.
I like this for AAA depth. Solid.
Dodgers sloppy thirds ^_^
I’d prefer Kole.
Me too, git ‘er done.
Someone better tell Perry Minasian what being aggressive means
The entire league is pretty much frozen right now waiting for Ohtani, man. Angels aren’t any different. If anything, having multiple signings in the last 24 hours is about as active as anyone has been.
The Angels’ weakest link has been the pen. There are a few goog ones already signed. Besides, if they are still in on Ohtani, isn’t it better to show him they are improving the worst part of the team?
There are also plenty of good ones left. Since almost everyone major is still unsigned. Them not signing any one specific guy is not a sign of anything other than an entire league in a holding pattern.
I swear some people are just obsessed with reading something into every nothing.Ohtani’s decision to sign or not sign with the Angels isn’t gonna come down to whether or not they won the Craig Kimbrel sweepstakes.
@Aragon Still have plenty of relief options I think he is building from the bottom up, waiting on ohtani.
@candy the only thing I’m worried about is lefty options I don’t want kolarek being the main lefty out of the pen
He had a solid season last year, but not going to do much for the Angels.
Minasian being aggressive?
Minassian is just waiting to either get the red rose from Ohtani or not at this point.
@pads fans
Way to early, still waiting on ohtani.
A lefty DH? What does this mean for Ohtani????
Bad teams have no depth.
Good teams sign depth.
Great teams build depth.
This move about stacks up/
I think “quality depth” is the idea.
Surrounded by anyone worth mentioning?
He’s probably the 6th outfielder maybe 7th. It’s just a depth move for the minors
Even though it’s a minor deal, I think it shows their lack of confidence in Jo Adell
Good chance Adell is traded for pitching. Same with Taylor Ward. They’ll sign someone like Teoscar Hernandez and keep Moniak.
All Adell needs is better coaching.
Haha I have a son now.
Not lack of confidence at all. Calhoun might make the roster like Phillips last year so adell gets playing time in the minors also drury and fletcher could play outfield with rengifo playing second do not want him playing anywhere else. Adell had a good last year before getting hurt
Meh. How about making some smart moves?
Yeah, HE’S the answer!
Boo!
Need another real outfielder. Teoscar Hernandez please.
Hard pass on the aging streaky corner outfielder with escalating strikeouts issues and little to no defensive value.
Ah yes, the Ohtani backup plan.
He will rake in Salt Lake City. He’ll probably rake in Tempe and a segment of fans will clamor for him to make the MLB roster.
This is a low-risk move. If Angels coaching can tap into what is believed to be there, then it’s a win. He’s not a starting OF unless calamity hits, but he could fill in at DH if his OPS improves.
As I recall, he was highly regarded in Dodgers organization and was part of trade for Darvish. I thought at the time he was going to terrorize the Angels, but that never happened. I think there was some clubhouse drama with Calhoun as well.
This guy already has better numbers than Adell. He should be the 4th outfielder and Adell should be traded for a new hot dog vendor for sections 508 to 512.