The Rangers announced an agreement with veteran outfielder Kole Calhoun on Tuesday. It’s reportedly a one-year, $5.2MM guarantee that comes with a $5.5MM club option for 2023. The option doesn’t contain a buyout. Calhoun is represented by PSI Sports Management.
Calhoun hit the open market after the Diamondbacks declined their $9MM club option following the season, instead paying him a $2MM buyout. Calhoun originally signed a two-year, $16MM deal with Arizona in the 2019-20 offseason and hit a strong .226/.338/.526 with 16 home runs over 228 plate appearances in 2020 before battling injuries this past year. Calhoun underwent surgeries on both his right knee and left hamstring, with that hamstring leading to another injured list stint late in the 2021 season. All told, Calhoun had only 182 PA in 2021, and he batted just .235/.297/.373.
The 34-year-old will now get a chance to bounce back in Arlington, returning to the AL West after playing with the Angels from 2012-19. Calhoun has long been a very solid defensive right fielder, and since breakout star Adolis Garcia acquitted himself pretty well defensively in part-time action in center field last year, Texas might opt to give Garcia more time in center with Calhoun taking over the bulk of right field duty.
Considering how Calhoun struggled in 2021, however, the Rangers might well see Calhoun as more of a part-time or platoon option rather than an everyday regular in the outfield. Since Texas clearly has some major spending in mind this winter (as evidenced by today’s agreement with Marcus Semien), we also shouldn’t rule out more additions to the outfield mix. For now, at least, Calhoun will join Garcia as a starter in the 2022 outfield.
Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic was first to report the Rangers were in agreement with Calhoun. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported it was a one-year, $5.2MM guarantee and contained a 2023 club option. Levi Weaver of the Athletic reported the option was valued at $5.5MM and didn’t contain a buyout figure.
Dear god, hope it’s a 1 year $3 million deal.
You act like the moneys coming from your account or something
Fearful of baseball socialism and all those Kole’s “takin owr jerbz!”
No
Check the username lol you shouldn’t be surprised
I mean I don’t care who spends the money as long as they still have money to spend when some contracts don’t pan out. Hopefully they don’t handicap themselves
Spoiler alert: they absolutely DO have the money, and any excuses to the contrary is management being cheap.
It’s not that they don’t have money, it’s that they can’t spend in a dumb way.
And yet they never seem to spend in a NON-Dumb way. You’d think that they’d learn a lesson from the Prince Fielder/Chan Ho Park/Choo fiascos, but it seems not.
Not my money but it is my team.
Bunch of trolls on this board
wait… you’re Arte Moreno?
It’s seven years but it’s still 3 million
@ArmChairGM; That is so. There is no such thing as a benign or innocent comment on MLBTR. I suspect we have a lot of low confidence fans who post whatever pops up in their brains because they have internet courage.
This better be a one year deal after that whole Semien thing…
Seriously. While I understand how and why the contract to Semien got where it did, the contract has enough risk to spare.
as long as it’s not 7 years ..
kershaw is next
One more deal to tie the Mets….
and then you’ll have four deals…only one more to go
Only the Rangers would follow up signing Semien with an old platoon outfielder like Kole Calhoun, lol
Hey, it’s tradition.
You can’t always play pocket aces. Sometimes you end your session also winning with 9-10 suited.
7 years 110 mil incoming
7 years 17 mil
Fitting name for Texas though. Sounds like a gunslinger…..KOLE CALHOUN!
Umm.
Hey we signed Marcus Semien!
Who is he platooning with ????
Our outfield is far from determined. So currently, nobody knows.
Solak would be the most likely.
Why the heck would he platoon with Solak? Lol Solak likely isnt gona be on this team.
Well that’s not Story.
Let’s hope freeman is next and it is with the braves
Amen!
New York Rangers of Texas/Arlington
7 years
7 million
Fun player to root for. Great glove and dead pull hitter. If the shift rule changes a huge bargain.
I do wonder about that. Lefty pull hitters might suddenly spike in value.
I might have released the news in reverse order.
It has happened. Kole Calhoun and Willie Calhoun in the same outfield
I wouldn’t be surprised if they move on from Willie, based on previous comments from Woodward. Choosing Kole would absolutely be choosing the wrong Calhoun. Rangers are clueless.
One of those deals that you say “Man, if we give him even $2mil and we know that he’s likely to be terrible, what would happen if we saved that $ for someone else when we actually need them?”
Rangers are having a rough day.
Lol maybe they gave him 7 years too
The Rangers are back baby!
LOL back to finishing in last place
Good signing if priced very low, maybe one year four million (3 million plus a team option for a second year at seven million or a one million buyout)
Kole Calhoun has a lot in common with Marcus Semien. For instance, neither is a pitcher, which is what the Rangers should really be signing.
They were 28th in runs scored I believe. They needed both
I always wondered why he wears 56 on his jersey.
Uhhh Garcia and Calhoun are competing for jobs and should consider themselves LUCKY to be flanking future Hall of Famer, DJ Peters
Has to be a one year deal and see how it goes. Maybe you can flip him to a contender at the deadline for something.
Rangers now have the market on Calhoun’s cornered…
Calhoun is pretty bad.. pretty useless.
Except he was one of the best defensive RF I ever saw play.
Few names scream “sign me before the lockout!” Louder than Kole Calhoun.
There is nothing “strong” about .226
There is a lot strong about an 864 OPS.
The Calhoun platoon
According to informed sources, The Marlins were in on Kole Calhoun right up until he signed the deal to join the Rangers.. The Marlins made a “strong” offer, but not one that matched the Rangers overall financial commitment. The Marlins weren’t the only team to be outbid.
I don’t know whether Daniels is an idiot, Young is an idiot, or someone else is an idiot, but man, whoever is making the decisions is an idiot.
Perhaps a group of highly educated people in the business of baseball are not idiots. Maybe its the commenter on mlbtr that’s an idiot…. just a thought
haha that made me laugh. Guys its a 1yr contract, they just want a veteran lefty to teach the kids let them live.
As if bad decisions are never made in baseball, lol
$5.2M seems a little steep for him. Makes me feel like Joc, another platoon type, is going to get more than originally thought.
I watched Kole Calhoun with the Angels for years. He’s a solid fundamental player, a leader, and a great teammate.
Of course he’s older, recovering from injury and lost something off his game. But the man is worth a shot as a part-time OF.
With all the hubbub about the Mets yesterday, it appears the Rangers at least matched and possibly surpassed them today (counting in Gray).
When you need an outfielder, he’s serviceable. While he’s your starter, you’re looking to upgrade
Seems my Rangers have to money whip everyone! Lol
Maybe insurance in case they don’t sign Suzuki.
If a guy like him is signing this early in the offseason you know you screwed up.
Calhoun knows there wasn’t a chance another team was giving him $5 million.