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Willie Calhoun

Yankees Sign Willie Calhoun To Minor League Contract

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The Yankees have signed outfielder Willie Calhoun to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link).  The contract includes an invitation to New York’s big league Spring Training camp.

Formerly a top-100 prospect, Calhoun looked to be paying off that potential when he hit .269/.323/.524 with 21 homers over 337 plate appearances with the Rangers in 2019.  However, Calhoun suffered a frightening injury in Spring Training 2020 when his jaw was broken by an errant Julio Urias fastball, and while the COVID-19 shutdown allowed time for Calhoun to recover in time for the delayed Opening Day, he also missed time that season with a hamstring injury.

Hopes for a fresh start in 2021 were fruitless, as Calhoun spent over three months on the injured list after his forearm was fractured by another pitch.  After a slow start in 2022, the Rangers optioned Calhoun to Triple-A, which led to Calhoun openly asking for a trade and criticizing the Texas coaching staff.  The Rangers did end up moving Calhoun to the Giants last June in a swap for Steven Duggar, though Calhoun spent much of his time at the Triple-A level with the San Francisco organization.  Calhoun appeared in only four MLB games with the Giants before being designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster in September.

Calhoun elected to become a free agent after the season, giving him the freedom to pursue a fresh start to his career.  Only entering his age-28 season, Calhoun is still arbitration-controlled through the 2024 campaign, which adds an extra bonus for the Yankees should the slugger rediscover his form.

For a left-handed hitting power bat, the short porch at Yankee Stadium would seem like a prime spot for Calhoun to get on track, even if he is a self-described “line-drive, doubles guy.”  For the cost of a minor league deal, there isn’t any risk for the Yankees in seeing if they can fix Calhoun, even if his .221/.286/.335 slash line over his last 454 Major League PA doesn’t offer much promise.

Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Cabrera are New York’s top candidates for left field at the moment, with former top prospect Estevan Florial still looking for an extended audition in the majors, and Giancarlo Stanton able to occasionally chip in as an outfielder when he isn’t a designated hitter.  The Yankees have been known to be exploring the market for left field help this offseason, but with options running thin, the team could opt to see if Hicks can rebound or if Cabrera can continue to play well into his sophomore season.  Calhoun’s minor league deal naturally doesn’t mean the Yankees can’t still add a notable starting outfielder via free agency or the trade market, but it could hint that the Bronx Bombers may let things play out in Spring Training before deciding how hard they should push for a left field upgrade.

19 Players Elect Free Agency

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Players hit minor league free agency on a daily basis during the postseason, as opposed to major league free agents who hit free agency following the World Series when their contracts expire. On Thursday, MLBTR covered 15 players who elected minor league free agency, and we will continue to provide occasional updates as players continue to hit the open market, as noted on the MiLB.com transactions log.

If a player is not on their organization’s 40-man roster at the end of the season, he will hit minor league free agency as long as he has at least 3 years of MLB service time, been assigned outright more than once in his career, and/or has played in the minor leagues for parts of seven or more seasons. Everyone on today’s list is part of that group of players, and most will search for another minor league deal this offseason, though a few may manage to latch onto a major league club and secure a bench or bullpen spot entering the 2023 season.

Infielders:

Outfielders:

Pitchers:

Giants Outright Willie Calhoun

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The Giants have outrighted outfielder Willie Calhoun to Triple-A Sacramento, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Calhoun was designated for assignment on Sunday.

Calhoun, 27, was once a highly-touted prospect of the Dodgers, cracking Baseball America’s top 100 in 2017. It was that year that the Dodgers traded him to the Rangers as the headliner of the deal that brought Yu Darvish to Los Angeles. However, a combination of injuries, underperformance and optional assignments have prevented Calhoun from establishing himself at the major league level. He’s only played more than half of an MLB season once, just barely reaching that threshold by getting into 83 games in 2019.

Earlier this year, he was optioned to the minors by the Rangers and publicly expressed a desire to be traded. Just over a month later, he was designated for assignment but cleared waivers and was outrighted. Since Calhoun has over three years of MLB service time, he could have rejected the outright assignment and elected free agency. However, since he has less than five years of service time, he would have had to forfeit the remainder of his $1.3MM salary. A couple weeks later, he finally departed the Rangers organization via a trade to the Giants.

The change of scenery seemingly served Calhoun well, as he hit .299/.386/.465 for Sacramento, registering a wRC+ of 115 in 41 games. That was enough to get him selected to the big league club last week, though he was designated for assignment after just nine plate appearances across four games.

It’s unclear whether Calhoun has accepted this outright assignment or elected free agency, though Calhoun should be able to return to the open market at season’s end regardless. All players with more than three years of MLB service time that have been outrighted off of their club’s 40-man roster can elect free agency at season’s end, meaning Calhoun can head to the open market shortly unless he accepts the assignment and is re-added to the roster in short order.

Giants Claim Jharel Cotton, Designate Willie Calhoun

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The Giants announced a series of roster moves, claiming right-handed pitcher Jharel Cotton off waivers from the Twins. In a corresponding move, outfielder Willie Calhoun was designated for assignment. Additionally, infielder Jose Rojas, who was designated for assignment on Friday, cleared waivers and elected free agency. Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com was among those who relayed the full slate of moves.

Cotton, 30, has been on and off the Twins’ roster all year long, having been designated for assignment for the fourth time this year just a few days ago. In the previous three instances, he cleared waivers and was outrighted, later getting re-selected to the roster. However, they couldn’t successfully pass him through waivers a fourth time, with the Giants sneaking in for an interception on this one.

In between all those transactions, Cotton has gotten strong results. In 35 big league innings this year, he has a 2.83 ERA, though there’s probably some good fortune in there. His 21.5% strikeout rate, 11.1% walk rate and 29.5% ground ball rate are all worse than league average, but a .182 batting average on balls in play and an 89.7% strand rate have kept him from allowing too many earned runs. His Triple-A work this season is actually much more impressive, as he has a 2.88 ERA in 25 innings with a 37.1% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 23.5% ground ball rate. The Giants will take a shot on him and see if he can bring some of those punchouts from the minors up to the majors. There’s just over two weeks remaining here in 2022 but Cotton could be retained for next year via arbitration if the Giants wish.

Calhoun, 27, was designated for assignment by the Rangers in June, clearing waivers and getting outrighted to the minors. A couple of weeks later, he was traded to the Giants, who selected him to the big league roster a week ago. Calhoun hit well for the Sacramento River Cats, slashing .299/.386/.465 for a wRC+ of 115 in 41 games. However, since coming up to join the Giants, he’s hit .125/.222/.125. That’s a tiny sample of just nine plate appearances in four games, but the club has decided to move on regardless. Calhoun will now head out onto the waiver wire a second time this year, though he’d be eligible to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency if he clears again, as is the right of any player who has previously been outrighted in his career.

As for Rojas, 29, he was just claimed off waivers from the Angels a couple of weeks ago and has been in Sacramento since then. In 22 big league games with the Halos before the claim, he hit just .125/.140/.161. He’s fared much better in the minors, hitting .274/.346/.569 between the two organizations this year. Since he was outrighted by the Angels earlier this year before being re-selected to the roster, he now is eligible to elect free agency instead of accepting an outright assignment.

Giants Make Five Roster Moves

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The Giants have made a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game against the Braves.  The contracts of outfielder Willie Calhoun and right-hander Cole Waites were selected from Triple-A, and roster space was created by the placement of Tommy La Stella on the 10-day injured list, outfielder Austin Dean being optioned to Triple-A, and catcher Patrick Mazeika being designated for assignment.

La Stella is dealing with neck spasms, and given the calendar, it is possible La Stella might be shut down for the remainder of the 2022 season if he isn’t making progress by the time his 10-day minimum is up.  The IL has become an unfortunately familiar landing spot for La Stella over his two years in San Francisco, as he played in only 76 games in 2021 and 60 games this season due to a long list of health issues.  The infielder didn’t make his 2022 debut until mid-May due to recovery from offseason Achilles surgery.

All of these injuries have limited La Stella’s production, as he has hit only .239/.282/.350 over 195 plate appearances this year.  He has also mostly been limited to DH duty, which is a hit for a player valued for his ability to play third, second, and first base.  If this is indeed it for La Stella in 2022, the Giants can only hope that a full winter of rest can get him back to his usual defensive role(s) in what will be the final year of his contract.  La Stella signed a three-year, $18.75MM free agent deal in February 2021 that to date hasn’t panned out for the Giants.

Calhoun was acquired in a trade with the Rangers in June, and the slugger will now make his first Major League appearance outside of a Texas uniform.  A 21-homer season in 2019 seemingly served as a breakout for Calhoun, but several injuries and a lack of big league playing time stalled his career.  Calhoun was vocal about his desire for a trade after the Rangers optioned him to Triple-A earlier this season, as he’ll now get a fresh start with a late-season audition with the Giants.

Thus far, the change of organization seems to have helped, as Calhoun has hit .299/.386/.465 with five homers in 166 PA with Triple-A Sacramento.  Carrying that production from the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League to the majors will be a challenge, though if Calhoun can show some of his old form down the stretch, he could put himself into San Francisco’s plans for 2023.  Calhoun still has two years of arbitration control remaining, and he doesn’t turn 28 until November.

Waites was an 18th-round selection for the Giants in the 2019 draft, and the righty is getting his first call to the majors.  Due to both knee surgery and the canceled 2020 minor league season, Waites doesn’t have a lot of pro experience, with only 71 1/3 total innings in the minors (40 2/3 of them this year).  However, he has a stunning 45.12% strikeout rate and 2.78 ERA over those 71 1/3 frames, though his 13.8% walk rate indicates shaky command.

Baseball America (21st) and MLB Pipeline (29th) each rank Waites among the top 30 prospects in the Giants’ farm system, citing his plus fastball that can touch 100mph, as well as a slider that can be a dominant pitch when Waites can control it.  Waites has pitched exclusively as a reliever over the last two seasons, and projects as an intriguing bullpen arm if he can limit the free passes.

Mazeika was claimed off waivers from the Mets on August 21, and he’ll now return to DFA limbo after eight games with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate and no appearances at the big league level.  A long-time member of the Mets farm system, Mazeika has played in 61 MLB games over the 2021-22 seasons and hit .190/.236/.279 over 159 PA.  With Joey Bart now back from the concussion-related IL, San Francisco has made some adjustments to its catching depth in recent days, including Mazeika’s DFA and Andrew Knapp’s outright assignment to Triple-A.

Giants Acquire Willie Calhoun From Rangers For Steven Duggar

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The Giants and Rangers have agreed to a swap of position players. The Rangers will send Willie Calhoun to the Giants in exchange for outfielder Steven Duggar, per Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Giants will also receive cash considerations from Texas, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).

San Francisco had a decision to make on Duggar, who needed to be added back to the 40-man roster after completing his rehab assignment. Calhoun himself just recently passed through waivers unclaimed.

The plan is for Duggar to join the active roster. The Rangers will designate Spencer Patton for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Duggar, per the team. They will need to make one more move to make room on the active roster for Duggar. Patton, 34, had made seven appearances for the Rangers, posting a 3.86 ERA/5.70 FIP across seven innings.

In Duggar, the Rangers are acquiring a player with more defensive utility than Calhoun, who never really found a defensive home. Duggar can play all three outfield spots. He had been on the injured list since April 21 with a strained oblique, however. He has appeared in each of the past five seasons for the Giants, accruing an overall line of .242/.297/.377 over 805 plate appearances with a too-high 29.4 percent strikeout rate and too-low 7.0 percent walk rate.

With Luis Gonzalez going on the injured list today, the Giants could easily have brought Duggar back to the Major League roster, so it’s interesting that they decided to move on. As a left-handed hitter, Duggar’s skill set doesn’t compliment the Giants’ current cohort of outfielders that includes Gonzalez, Joc Pederson, Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Slater, and LaMonte Wade Jr., who himself is almost ready to return from the injured list. Only Slater among that group bats right-handed.

Of course, Calhoun bats lefty as well, so he’s less of a fit acquisition and more of a rehabilitation project for the staff in Triple-A. Broadly speaking, the Giants work wonders finding roles for players who have been previously unable to find a defined role on a big-league club. Players like Wilmer Flores, Darin Ruf, and Thairo Estrada are players that have found a home in San Francisco’s system. Calhoun has had his opportunities in the bigs, and while he’s no longer a prospect, the Giants are as promising a landing spot as a young vet like Calhoun can hope to find in this league. For now, the Giants can send him directly to Triple-A without adding him to their 40-man roster.

Rangers Designate Willie Calhoun, Select Steele Walker

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JUNE 11: Calhoun has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter).

JUNE 5: The Rangers announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Steele Walker. Infielder Andy Ibanez has been optioned to make room for him on the active roster. To create space on the 40-man roster, outfielder Willie Calhoun was designated for assignment.

Walker, 25, was originally drafted by the White Sox but joined the Rangers as the return in the trade that sent Nomar Mazara to Chicago. In 2020 and 2021, Baseball America considered him to be one of the top 30 Rangers prospects, though he fell off the list this year after a disappointing 2021 campaign. In 111 games between Double-A and Triple-A last year, he hit .241/.308/.400 for a wRC+ of 83. He’s turned things around this year, however, hitting .297/.395/.486 for a 126 wRC+.

That line comes in just 20 Triple-A games, but it’s evidently enough that the club wants to see if he can carry it to the big leagues with him. Kole Calhoun and Adolis Garcia have been mainstays in the Texas outfield, though it’s been a rotating cast of characters that have been suiting up next to them, including Ibanez, Brad Miller, Eli White, Zach Reks and Nick Solak. Miller is on the injured list and no one else has taken sufficiently taken over a regular role, creating an opening for Walker to get this audition.

As for Willie Calhoun, this move will almost certainly conclude his tumultuous relationship with the Rangers organization. Just over a month ago, he was demoted to Triple-A and didn’t mince words when speaking about the situation, telling the media that he had asked the team to trade him. Furthermore, he also questioned the club’s coaching strategy. “I don’t agree with some of the hitting philosophies from the new guys,” Calhoun said.  “I don’t process that (information) too well.  I’m not 6-4, 230 pounds; I can’t hit pop-up home runs.  I don’t have that leverage.”

Calhoun was the headlining prospect in the deal that sent Yu Darvish to the Dodgers, though he’s struggled to cement himself at the big leagues since then. In 253 games over the past six seasons, he has a career batting line of .241/.300/.407, 85 wRC+. Despite that sluggish output, he’s likely to garner interest around the league based on his previous prospect status, with teams hoping that a change of scenery could help him get his career back on track. Despite many up-and-down seasons, he’s still just 27 years old and came into this campaign with three years and 33 days of MLB service time. He’s in his final option year, meaning any acquiring team wouldn’t even have to commit to an active roster spot for Calhoun, and could control him beyond this season through arbitration.

Of the three prospects the Rangers got in the Darvish deal, A.J. Alexy is now the last one still with the organization, as Brendon Davis was lost to the Angels in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft prior to the 2021 season. Alexy made his MLB debut last year but is currently struggling in Triple-A. Through 48 2/3 innings this year, he has an ERA of 6.29.

Rangers’ Willie Calhoun Wants To Be Traded After Demotion To Triple-A

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The Rangers optioned outfielder Willie Calhoun to Triple-A today, as part of the team’s efforts to pare down to 26 players in advance of Monday’s roster reduction deadline.  Calhoun’s demotion was seen as something of a surprise, and it appears as though he sees the move as something of a last straw.

“(I’m) gonna go to Triple A and put myself in a position to get traded.  I do want to be traded,” Calhoun told The Athletic’s Levi Weaver.  “I do want to be traded….I don’t know if I’ll play another game in a Rangers uniform.  And I let them know that.”

Once a top-100 prospect, Calhoun was the key piece of the three-player package Texas received from the Dodgers for Yu Darvish at the 2017 trade deadline.  It appeared as though Calhoun was on his way to becoming a fixture in the Rangers lineup when he hit .269/.323/.524 with 21 home runs over 337 PA in 2019, but injuries since played a role in his lack of production.  Calhoun suffered a broken jaw after being hit in the face by a Julio Urias fastball during Spring Training 2020, and then missed three months of the 2021 season after suffering a forearm fracture when Kris Bubic hit him with another pitch.

Since the start of the 2020 campaign, Calhoun has hit only .223/.288/.339 over 445 plate appearances.  That includes a .556 OPS over 53 PA this season, and the Rangers had seen enough to believe that Calhoun was expendable on the active roster.  Calhoun’s issues with the organization have clearly been building for a while, as he told Weaver that “I’ve been wanting out for the last year, year and a half.  I feel like I need a change of scenery.”

However, Calhoun also wasn’t pleased with how Rangers hitting coaches both old and new (Tim Hyers and assistant coach Seth Conner were hired over the offseason) tried to alter his swing and approach.  “I don’t agree with some of the hitting philosophies from the new guys,” Calhoun said.  “I don’t process that (information) too well.  I’m not 6-4, 230 pounds; I can’t hit pop-up home runs.  I don’t have that leverage.”

Rangers manager Chris Woodward told reporters Sunday the team wanted Calhoun “to work a little bit more vertical with his swing,” but Calhoun said this clashed with his ideal approach as the “line-drive, doubles guy” he was during his time in the Dodgers farm system.

There isn’t much leverage on Calhoun’s side to force a trade, as Texas still has control over his services through the 2024 season.  There was some speculation whether the Rangers would tender him a contract last winter, the two sides avoided arbitration in Calhoun’s first arb-eligible year by agreeing to a $1.3MM salary for the 2022 season.

When asked about Calhoun’s desire for a trade, Rangers GM Chris Young simply said that “we’re looking to get Willie going.  The game is about performance.  If he goes out and performs at a high level, there will be an opportunity for him.”

This statement doesn’t rule out the possibility of a trade, of course, as it could be that Calhoun’s next “opportunity” could indeed come with another team.  If the Rangers are ready to move on, they would naturally like to get some kind of decent return back, and as Calhoun noted, going on a tear at Triple-A would help him rebuild his stock for any teams interested in acquiring the 27-year-old.

Rangers Designate Hyeon-jong Yang For Assignment

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TODAY: Yang has been outrighted to Triple-A Round Rock, the Rangers announced.

SEPTEMBER 15: The Rangers announced they’ve designated southpaw Hyeon-jong Yang for assignment. The move creates space on the 40-man roster for corner outfielder/designated hitter Willie Calhoun, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Yang has been on and off the big league roster a few times this season. The 33-year-old signed a minor league deal with Texas over the offseason after a generally strong 14-year career with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization. The Rangers selected Yang to the majors a few weeks into the season but he was designated for assignment around six weeks later. He’s since been back for a pair of brief stints on the MLB roster.

Working in a swing role, Yang has tossed 35 1/3 frames of 5.60 ERA ball. He’s posted worse than average strikeout and walk numbers (15.6% and 10%, respectively) while struggling to miss bats at the big league level. Yang has an identical 5.60 ERA in 45 Triple-A innings, although he’s posted better strikeout, walk and swinging strike numbers in the minors.

Calhoun returns after missing nearly three months upon fracturing his left hand on a hit-by-pitch. Injuries have mostly derailed his past couple seasons, as the 26-year-old hasn’t managed to build upon the offensive progress he showed back in 2019. The final few weeks of this year will be big for Calhoun, who is eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter. Manager Chris Woodward recently suggested Calhoun’s lack of playing time lately could make determining whether to tender him a contract a difficult decision, so he’ll look to make that an easier call for the front office with a strong finish to the season.

AL West Notes: Calhoun, Yordan, Murphy

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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.
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