Rangers have many issues ahead this offseason. What to do with Calhoun isn’t one.
Willie Calhoun famously, or maybe infamously, started the season at Triple A Nashville. He was went back there again in July, part of a bad-luck roster crunch.
The goal is to never go back again.
“I hope not,” Calhoun said Thursday. “That’s their decision.”
He seems to have made up the minds in the Texas Rangers’ front office on him for them.
Calhoun isn’t going back to the minors. He has been one of the Rangers’ best hitters this season, and his defense and base running have been greatly improved.
The prize of the Yu Darvish trade of 2017, Calhoun looks like the Rangers’ left fielder next season and occupy a key spot in the Rangers’ lineup. And he won the game for them Thursday.
“I feel like I prove with every opportunity that I can play,” Calhoun said.
He was back in the lineup in the series finale against the Boston Red Sox despite having a bone bruise blow his left elbow after getting hit by a Rick Porcello pitch in the first inning.
Calhoun delivered in the seventh, hitting a solo homer to break a tie and lead the Rangers to a 7-5 victory in a game that will be remembered for how Mike Minor reached 200 strikeouts.
“I said if they need me I can play,” Calhoun said.
The Rangers always believed Calhoun would hit, but they weren’t sure about his defense. However, he shed more than 20 pounds in the offseason, a weight loss that resulted in more mobility and speed.
On Tuesday, Calhoun beat out an infield hit to first base and raced into the left-field corner to catch a deep flyball. Those things wouldn’t have been possible a year ago.
“Oh, no,” Calhoun said. “When I got that hit, I was so surprised. I felt like it was first infield hit in my professional career.”
He also understands that he can’t sit around all offseason eating potato chips and bonbons. Yes, he has shown that he can play every day, but he recognizes things he must improve and the need to remain fit.
“Now I know what I’m capable of, so that motivated me to get better,” Calhoun said.
Manager Chris Woodward has seen Calhoun straight himself after the adversity of failing to make the Opening Day roster and the unexpected mid-July demotion to remain productive wherever he was playing.
That is also part of the process Woodward frequently speaks of.
“I’ve been more impressed with him that just about anyone, especially with a bat in his hand,” Woodward said. “He blows me away with his learning and how he navigates at-bats and prepares for at-bats. When you’re surprised that a guy gets out, that’s a good thing.”
With Calhoun solidly in the 2020 lineup and Joey Gallo likely moving to right field, the Rangers again find themselves with an excess of lefty-hitting corner outfielders. That can be alleviated with a trade of Nomar Mazara or Shin-Soo Choo, who has full no-trade rights as he enters the final year of his contract.
It’s one of many things general manager Jon Daniels needs to tackle, along with third base, first base and a right-hander or two for the starting rotation.
Calhoun, though, has made up the minds in the front office’s minds on him for them.
This story was originally published September 26, 2019 at 2:00 PM.
