Left field becoming clearer for Texas Rangers with Willie Calhoun demotion
Willie Calhoun entered Texas Rangers’ spring training with a chance to become the everyday left fielder.
He didn’t win the job.
Instead, Calhoun is going to Triple A Round Rock. He served as the headliner on a day the Rangers announced 14 cuts from big-league camp.
“Willie is going to be a player who helps us win championships,” manager Jeff Banister said. “I’ve said it before – delay is never denial. It’s not. How we start is never how we end.”
With that decision, the Rangers left field position becomes clearer. Ryan Rua and Drew Robinson are the leading candidates in a platoon situation. Rua, a right-handed bat, and Robinson, a left-handed bat, are having solid springs defensively.
Other candidates remain too. Destin Hood is an elite athlete who could have played college football but opted for a baseball career. Hood, who had a brief stint with the Miami Marlins in 2016, started in left Tuesday vs. the Brewers. He led off with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Darwin Barney.
"He has opened some eyes," Banister said. "It has been impressive what he has been able to do. He is an intriguing guy."
Another option could be Carlos Tocci, a Rule 5 player. Tocci is batting just .226 this spring, but Baniser raved about his outfield play.
For now, signs point to a Rua/ Robinson platoon. Banister shot down the notion of using Nomar Mazara in left and Shin-Soo Choo in right unless it's out of necessity.
“Probably the priority look right now is those two guys [Rua and Robinson] out there,” Banister said. “We’re not completely to this point.”
For Calhoun, Banister compared his demotion to Joey Gallo’s before the 2016 season. Gallo simply needed more time to develop and is now one of the staples on the team. The expectation is for Calhoun to do the same.
Much like Gallo, Calhoun is under a bright spotlight with the Rangers. Gallo is known for his monster home runs and Calhoun is known as being the prize from last season’s Yu Darvish trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Calhoun, 23, has showed he can handle the bat. He has 48 home runs over his last two minor league seasons, one of just four minor league players with 27-plus homers in each of the last two years. The 5-foot-8 Calhoun earned a September call up with the Rangers last season, and batted .265 in 13 games.
Calhoun is batting .243 with one home run and five RBIs in 13 Cactus League games this spring, but the bigger issue has been his defense. Calhoun spent most of his professional career at second base with the Dodgers and is now transitioning to the outfield.
“This is a guy we’ve seen what he can do in the batter’s box, his ability as a hitter, unique skill set there,” Banister said. “We challenged Willie to go and get to work on the defensive side of his game to help us win championships. The ability to do both is important.
“We feel like he still has some growth, not only on the defensive side, but to continue growth on the offensive side as well. He’s going to be a good player, but we’ve got to do some work on the defense to complete that.”
The other moves made by the Rangers:
Optioned infielder Ronald Guzman, C/INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa and right-hander Connor Sadzeck to Round Rock along with Calhoun.
Catcher Brett Nicholas, who was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Tim Lincecum, cleared waivers and has been assigned to Round Rock. He'll return to camp as a non-roster player.
Optioned catcher Jose Trevino to Double A Frisco.
Infielder Hanser Alberto, right-handed pitcher Austin Bibens-Dirkx, right-handed pitcher Paolo Espino, right-handed pitcher Reed Garrett, outfielder Scott Heineman, left-handed pitcher David Hurlbut, infielder Christian Lopes, right-handed pitcher Adrian Sampson, and right-handed pitcher Tayler Scott were assigned to minor league camp.
Brewers 4, Rangers 3
Texas | 001 | 010 | 100 | — | 3 |
Milwaukee | 000 | 110 | 20x | — | 4 |
Texas<QM> | ab | r | h | bi | Milwaukee<QM> | ab | r | h | bi |
DShelds cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Lo.Cain cf | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
C.Tocci cf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ky.Wren rf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Rbinson dh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | C.Ylich rf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
N.Mzara rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | J.Davis pr | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Gnzalez rf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | R.Braun 1b | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Rya.Rua 1b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | T.Tylor cf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pr.Beck 1b | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Tr.Shaw 3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Plouffe 3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | L.Avles 3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Leblanc 3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | E.Thmes dh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
J.Prfar ss | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | J.Vllar 2b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
M.Ohlmn ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | K.Hiura 2b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
De.Hood lf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | J.Bandy c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
F.Rllin lf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bthncrt c | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Centeno c | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | E.Sgard ss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
C.Csali ph | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | J.Hager pr | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
D.Brney 2b | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Ji.Choi lf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
L.Marte 2b | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Aguilar 1b | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Totals<QM> | 32 | 3 | 7 | 2 | Totals<QM> | 32 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
DP—Texas 0, Milwaukee 1. LOB—Texas 5, Milwaukee 7. 2B—Profar (3), Hood (4), Cain (4), Choi (4). HR—Aguilar (2). SB—Centeno (1), Villar (1). CS—Rua (1), Davis (1). SF—Barney (1).
Texas | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
Hamels | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Gardewine BS, 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Jepsen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Bush L, 0-2 BS, 0-1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Barnette | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Milwaukee | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
Woodruff | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Knebel | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Albers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Wilkerson W, 1-1 | 2 <AF>1/3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
Beckman S, 1-1 | <AF>2/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
HBP—by—Hamels (Bandy). WP—Hamels, Woodruff, Wilkerson. Umpires—Home, Lance Barrett; First, Doug Eddings; Second, Mark Carlson; Third, Adrian Johnson. T—2:49. A—6,236
This story was originally published March 13, 2018 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Left field becoming clearer for Texas Rangers with Willie Calhoun demotion."