Calhoun injury solidifies Yu Darvish trade as one of JD’s worst as Texas Rangers GM
On the day the Texas Rangers dealt pitcher Yu Darvish, GM Jon Daniels chided my poorly phrased question by saying the team generally wanted to trade for other teams’ “crappy” players.
He was kidding, but that’s what he did.
The results are not official, but on Thursday the Yu trade moved up the ranks as one of the worst of the JD era.
In July of 2017, the Rangers had the prime starting pitcher at the MLB trade deadline and in return JD turned that into nothing.
Not just anyone can do that.
The “jewel” acquired by the Rangers in the move with the L.A. Dodgers was outfielder Willie Calhoun, whose 2020 season is likely over.
Calhoun suffered a pulled hamstring in the Rangers’ loss against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night. It does not sound like he will return.
“I don’t know how optimistic I am, that he can come back and play for us,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said before the Rangers’ game on Thursday night against the Padres. “I’m hopeful, but I don’t know how hopeful I am.”
Woodward also said, “It sucks. I feel really bad for Willie. He’s put a ton of work in.”
That’s baseball speak for, “Yeah, he’s not coming back.”
The Rangers then went on to lose to the Padres on Thursday 8-7 in 10 innings by doing what they do best: allowing a grand slam. The Padres took all four games of the series, and the Rangers have dropped five straight.
Per Elias Sports Bureau, the Rangers made history in allowing a grand slam in four consecutive games when the Padres’ Eric Hosmer hit one on Thursday.
Even in this abbreviated season, the Rangers have given up six grand slams, which matches the most in a season in the last 20 years.
The Rangers eventually retook the lead, but reliever Jesse Chavez coughed it up by allowing a pair of eighth-inning home runs.
The Rangers tied it in the ninth on a Nick Solak solo home run, but the Padres won it in the 10th on a single to score the implanted runner at second base.
Not sure Willie Calhoun could have done much about changing any of this. His MRI before the game revealed a low grade left hamstring pull.
The club said he will be out for a minimum of three weeks. Texas also put shortstop Elvis Andrus on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain.
There are few better guys you could meet in big league baseball than Calhoun, but the production simply has not come around since he came to Texas.
He cares. He tries. He’s improved his conditioning. He prepares.
Any manager or GM would be charmed by Calhoun’s persistence and drive. The guy wants it.
“This off-season, he was as ready as I’ve ever seen a player. He was ready to take on the league,” Woodward said.
And the numbers are not there.
One season after Calhoun showed like he was going to break out in 2020, he’s batting .172 with a .430 OPS. For you non-analytics folks, those numbers stink.
Injuries, demotions, setbacks are among the reasons why Calhoun remains stuck on the edge of becoming a regular MLB player, and the typical random fifth outfielder who fights like hell to avoid going back to the minors.
After four seasons with the club, and producing not much, don’t be surprised if the Rangers move on next spring.
Dealing Yu when they did will always be the right decision.
The club was heading towards a losing season, and they already had enjoyed the best seasons of Yu Darvish’s career on this side of the Pacific Ocean. Since Yu moved to LA, and then on to the Cubs, he’s been injured to dominant to sporadic.
What the team received in return for a pitcher this talented is an indictment on JD and his staff.
Calhoun, 25, has not panned out. The Dodgers included in that deal pitcher A.J. Alexy and infielder Brendon Davis.
Alexy has not advanced beyond Class A ball.
Davis spent the 2019 season at Double A Frisco where he batted .202 in 346 at-bats.
The only trade in JD’s tenure as awful as this was the 2012 deal to land Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster, which included the Rangers giving up future star pitcher Kyle Hendricks.
If you want to include JD’s 2006 trade of infielder Adrian Gonzalez to San Diego in exchange for pitcher Adam Eaton, it fits. JD routinely admits the logic of the deal was flawed from the start.
The logic to trade Yu Darvish was flawless.
The execution was atrocious.
This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
