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Rangers Exploring Outfield Trades, Pursuing Chirinos Reunion

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8:58pm: The Cardinals are also in the mix for Mazara, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. That jibes with their goal of acquiring a lefty-hitting outfielder.

6:17pm: The White Sox are “working hard to land” Mazara, as Jim Bowden of SiriusXM first reported. As for Chirinos, the Astros, Tigers, Rays and Pirates join the Rangers in the market for him, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

1:04pm: The Rangers have remained busy on the market, with MLB.com’s TR Sullivan reporting that the club is active on multiple fronts (Twitter links). While it stands to reason that the team is still considering moves in the rotation, the attention now is on the position player side after several notable pitching additions.

It has long seemed likely that the Rangers would explore possible swaps involving its existing outfielders. But the team now appears to be engaged in a somewhat dedicated manner. Sullivan says the intention is to “move one of their extra left-handed hitting outfielders,” with Nomar Mazara, Willie Calhoun, and Shin-Soo Choo named as possibilities.

That’s a highly varied group of players. Mazara is a mid-arbitration player that hasn’t turned the corner in the majors but remains quite youthful. Calhoun hasn’t had the same degree of opportunity (and hasn’t logged as much service) but showed well with the bat last year. He’s also still a question mark defensively, as is the aging Choo, who can still hit but isn’t worth the remainder of his big contract.

The Rangers are said to be chatting with the Diamondbacks about some of these players; the clubs were connected last night regarding Mazara. Evidently talks between the Rangers and Marlins didn’t advance. Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio tweets that the Fish were turned off by the asking price for Mazara, a former top prospect.

Meanwhile, there’s “mutual interest” in a new deal with backstop Robinson Chirinos. That’s rather an interesting development, considering the Texas organization surprisingly declined its option over him last fall. The replacement plan fell apart, as MLBTR’s Connor Byrne explored, while Chirinos flourished with the cross-state Astros.

The 35-year-old Chirinos and the Rangers are amply familiar with one another, as he played with the team for six seasons. It seems the sides carry no ill will over the way things ended. The catching market has moved rather swiftly to this point, leaving Chirinos and Jason Castro as the top available options.

AL West Notes: Mazara, Mariners, K. Calhoun

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Nomar Mazara has gone from an expected foundational piece with the Rangers to a platoon outfielder whose future is somewhat up in the air, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. Texas is committed to getting lengthy looks at Willie Calhoun and Scott Heineman in the outfield, and when Joey Gallo returns from the IL, he’ll reenter the outfield mix as well. Mazara, meanwhile, has the worst OBP against left-handed pitching of any qualified hitter in the AL and ranks near the bottom in terms of average and slugging as well. He’s nearing the conclusion of his fourth full year in the big leagues, and while he’ll likely put together his fourth 20-homer season — he’s at 15 presently — he’s never produced even a league-average offensive season based on OPS+ or wRC+. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter and earn a raise on this year’s $3.3MM salary. Texas has some in-house alternatives and the ability to spend in free agency, and Mazara drew some interest prior to the July 31 trade deadline. It’d be painful to sell low on the former top prospect, but it’s clear that his stock has dropped considerably.

Some more news and notes from the AL West…

  • Asked during a conference call about the Mariners’ plans in free agency this winter (link via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times), general manager Jerry Dipoto replied: “We don’t expect to go into the offseason scouring the free-agent market at the top of the food chain.” That shouldn’t be a particularly surprising stance for anyone to see, as the Seattle club has made it abundantly clear that its rebuild will be a multiyear process. With Felix Hernandez’s contract coming off the books and just over $86MM committed to next season’s payroll at present, the Mariners will have plenty of money to spend, but those funds seem likelier to be allocated to stopgaps, potential summer trade chips and/or mid-range free agents than to any top-tier talent. As Divish points out, Seattle would have overpay (substantially, most likely) in order to sway any free agent to join a club that just lost 90-plus games and is publicly rebuilding.
  • The Mariners will consider moving to a six-man rotation in the near future, MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes. Well-regarded pitching prospects Justus Sheffield and Justin Dunn, acquired in the offseason deals for James Paxton and Edwin Diaz, respectively, will likely join the club by September. Felix Hernandez, too, could return in September. Such an arrangement could help Seattle in monitoring the workload of rookie Yusei Kikuchi and also preventing Marco Gonzales from a radical increase in his innings count from 2018. Sheffield was given a reprieve from the comically hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League recently and has dominated Double-A opposition with a 1.64 ERA and 65-to-14 K/BB ratio in 60 1/3 innings of work. Dunn has also spent the year in Double-A, compiling 100 1/3 innings of 3.59 ERA ball with 10.7 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9.
  • Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun knows that with Jo Adell looming, the team has an affordable alternative to his $14MM club option, but he tells Mik DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times that he’s focused more on his current play than his contractual status. “I’m worried about playing now, and what happens will happen,” said Calhoun. “[Adell] is definitely a great player. He’s a young guy, and we’ll see how he continues to develop, but the talent is there. He’s going to be a big league player for a long time.” Calhoun has been the Angels’ primary right fielder since 2014 and, with the exception of a down season in 2018, has been a generally underrated player. Still, it’s questionable whether the Angels or another club would value him at a net $13MM — the option has a $1MM buyout — in advance of his age-32 season. Free agents entering their mid-30s haven’t fared well in recent years, and corner bats in particular have struggled on the open market. Calhoun’s case is surely helped by the fact that a good bit of his value is tied to his glove and a 10.2 percent walk rate across the past four seasons.

Joey Gallo To Miss At Least Four Weeks After Hamate Bone Surgery

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9:16pm:  Gallo is “likely” to miss six weeks, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes.

5:38PM: Gallo underwent the surgery today and is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks, Rangers executive VP of communications John Blake tweets.  Willie Calhoun has been called up to replace Gallo on the 25-man roster.

2:07PM: Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo will undergo surgery to fix a broken hamate bone in his right hand, The Athletic’s Levi Weaver reports (Twitter link).  Reports yesterday suggested that Gallo would likely require an injured list stint to recover from a nagging wrist injury.

Judging from the timelines associated to most players who have undergone hamate procedures, Gallo should miss roughly four-to-six weeks of time, though there’s obviously quite a bit of variance involved given the nature of hand injuries.  If Gallo’s recovery time is on the longer end of that spectrum, the rest of his season could very well be in doubt, as the Rangers might ultimately opt to just shut Gallo down in September rather than bring him back for two or three weeks of what will likely be meaningless games.

Even if Gallo is able to return, his latest injury is the second major interruption in what began as a huge breakout season for the 25-year-old.  Gallo was hitting .276/.421/.653 with 17 homers over his first 214 plate appearances of the season before an oblique sent him to the IL on June 2.  After returning in late June, Gallo posted only a .197/.305/.465 slash line over his next 83 PA, as he had reportedly been battling wrist issues for several weeks in the leadup to his broken hamate diagnosis.

While always a big slugger in his two previous seasons, Gallo’s big steps forward as an all-around hitter (he had only a .203 career batting average and .317 career OBP prior to 2019) and his above-average defensive grades as a center fielder and left fielder have to make the Rangers feel like they’ve found a new face of the franchise.  Gallo’s huge numbers were a big part of the Rangers’ surprisingly competitive performance over the first few months, and it isn’t any shock that the team’s recent slump has coincided with Gallo’s lack of production.  With Gallo now on the IL, attention will turn to what names Texas is likely to deal away prior to the July 31 trade deadline.

Rangers Activate Hunter Pence, Option Willie Calhoun, Select Taylor Guerrieri

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The Rangers announced this afternoon that they’ve activated Hunter Pence from the injured list and optioned outfielder Willie Calhoun to Triple-A Nashville to open a spot on the roster. Texas has also selected the contract of right-hander Taylor Guerrieri and placed left-hander Jesse Biddle on the injured list due to shoulder fatigue.

As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News relays (via Twitter), Calhoun was rather blindsided by the move. “I’m speechless,” Calhoun said after learning of his demotion. “I’ve helped the team win. If me playing every day at Nashville helps team win, then I guess I have to play every day in Nashville.”

Calhoun has indeed been a generally productive bat with Texas, hitting .277/.313/.489 with five big flies in 99 plate appearances. At the same time, he’s struggled mightily to get on base in his latest stint with the team. Since being summoned from Nashville on June 17, Calhoun has homered three times and smacked four doubles in 75 PAs, but he’s also batted just .225/.267/.408 on the whole. He’s walked more than he’s punched out so far in Nashville in 2019, so perhaps a quick trip back down to the minors can help him to bring some of that approach to the MLB level.

That said, Calhoun also seems like a casualty of a roster that simply has too many outfielders at the moment. Delino DeShields Jr. is hitting .326/.377/.442 since his own recall from Triple-A. Joey Gallo (.266/.406/.626) has been sensational all season long. Pence (.294/.363/.608) and fellow veteran Shin-Soo Choo (.291/.389/.508) are both highly productive veterans. Nomar Mazara may not have lived up to his considerable prospect billing yet, but he’s outhit Calhoun over the past couple of months nonetheless (.276/.327/.454 in his past 40 games).

Calhoun seems likely to return in the event of an injury or trade elsewhere in the outfield, and it’s at least possible that the organization takes this demotion as an opportunity to continue getting him some work in the infield. Texas has reportedly been working Calhoun out at second base and even third base of late, and if that experiment continues into game settings in the minors, it’d only enhance his versatility at the MLB level. Calhoun does have extensive experience as a second baseman in the minors, but he was moved to the outfield due to defensive concerns.

As for Guerrieri, the former first-round pick (Rays, 2011) and top prospect will get his first shot with the Rangers after notching a 3.47 ERA, 9.7 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 36 1/3 innings with the team’s Nashville affiliate. He did throw 9 2/3 frames with the Blue Jays in his first big league action last year, allowing five runs on nine hits and four walks with eight strikeouts.

Willie Calhoun Could Be Infield Possibility For Rangers

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Willie Calhoun was primarily a second baseman during his days as a touted Dodgers prospect, but he has shifted to the outfield since the Rangers acquired him for Yu Darvish in 2017. Calhoun did man the keystone three times earlier this season in Triple-A ball, though, and now the Rangers are exploring using him in their infield, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

The 24-year-old Calhoun spent about 20 minutes working at second with infield coach Tony Beasley before the Rangers’ game against the Angels on Monday, according to Grant. Beasley wants it to become a regular occurrence for Calhoun, who Grant notes lost 30 pounds during the offseason and is now more equipped to line up in the infield. He could become an option at both second and third for the Rangers.

The way the slimmed-down Calhoun’s hitting, his bat will play at any position. It’s a small sample of 71 plate appearances, though Calhoun’s slashing a terrific .313/.352/.567 (134 wRC+) with four home runs in the majors this year. He has also raked in 2019 with Triple-A Nashville, having hit .302/.417/.540 (137 wRC+) with eight HRs in 152 tries.

For the most part, Calhoun has played left field for the playoff-contending Rangers. However, a healthy Rangers team has a vast selection of other outfield choices, including Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara, Shin-Soo Choo, Hunter Pence (on the injured list at present), Danny Santana and Delino DeShields. Meanwhile, the Rangers haven’t gotten stellar overall production from second or third – two places they could potentially squeeze Calhoun’s bat into the lineup.

Second baseman Rougned Odor has posted cataclysmic numbers this year, though he has inched toward respectability of late (.746 OPS in June). The Rangers would have an easier time moving on from struggling third baseman Asdrubal Cabrera than Odor – something Grant raised as a possibility last week. Cabrera, whom the Rangers signed to a one-year, $3.5MM contract in free agency, has batted .228/.310/.406 (82 wRC+) with minus-5 Defensive Runs Saved over 287 PA. Fellow veteran Logan Forsythe has been the more productive of the two, but he stumbled to a single-digit wRC+ (9) in 57 PA last month.

Even if the Rangers don’t believe Calhoun’s ready for regular infield duty this year, it could become a possibility in 2020. Both Cabrera and Forsythe seem likely to be out of Texas by then, which will leave the Rangers looking for an answer at the hot corner.

Rangers Place Hunter Pence On IL, Activate Willie Calhoun

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The Rangers announced that they’ve placed outfielder Hunter Pence on the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain. His roster spot’s going to fellow outfielder Willie Calhoun, whom the Rangers activated from the IL after he missed just under a month with a strained left quad.

This is the first setback in what has been a stunning renaissance season for Pence, who’s a key reason why the Rangers are unexpectedly in wild-card position at the moment. Since signing a minor league contract in the offseason, the former Astro, Phillie and Giant, 36, has slashed .294/.353/.608 (143 wRC+) with 15 home runs in 215 plate appearances. For reference, Pence combined for a 145 wRC+ over the previous two seasons, when it appeared his days as even a passable major leaguer were long over.

While the loss of Pence is an unwelcome development for the Rangers, who are tied with the Red Sox for the AL’s last playoff spot, the return of Calhoun is encouraging. Acquired from the Dodgers in July 2017 for right-hander Yu Darvish, Calhoun fell short of expectations during his first year-plus in the Texas organization. But the 24-year-old got off to an excellent start this season at the Triple-A level, where he hit .302/.417/.540 with eight homers and more unintentional walks (24) than strikeouts (21) in 152 attempts, and carried that to the Rangers when they promoted him May 15. Calhoun batted .435/.458/.739 with a pair of HRs in 24 PA in the week between his call-up and his IL placement.

Latest On Joey Gallo, Willie Calhoun, Matt Bush

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At 36-31, the Rangers unexpectedly hold a two-game lead on an American League wild-card spot. Some of their recent success has come without injured outfielders Joey Gallo and Willie Calhoun, though both players are progressing toward returns, Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram reports (links: 1, 2). Meanwhile, injured reliever Matt Bush is close to rejoining the Rangers’ bullpen, according to Wilson.

Gallo, who suffered a left oblique strain June 1, could be back when the Rangers open a six-game road trip June 25, per Wilson. Given the nature of oblique injuries, a three-plus-week absence wouldn’t be a terrible outcome for Gallo or the Rangers. Nevertheless, the injury has temporarily derailed an MVP-caliber start for the 25-year-old Gallo, who was amid a career-best season when he landed on the shelf.

Gallo entered 2019 off back-to-back 40-home run campaigns, though his high-strikeout, low-batting average ways helped limit him to 2.8 fWAR in each of those years. So far this season, though, Gallo has already totaled 3.3 fWAR in 214 plate appearances. While his strikeouts continue to pile up, he has still slashed .276/.421/.653 (170 wRC+) with 17 homers. Along the way, Gallo has significantly increased his walk rate (19.1 percent, compared to 13.4 from 2015-18). Further backing up his bottom-line results, Gallo ranks first in the majors in average exit velocity (96.3) and fourth in expected weighted on-base average (.442), according to Statcast.

Along with demonstrating his offensive prowess, Gallo has been a major asset in the field, having logged six Defensive Runs Saved between left and center. Needless to say, Gallo’s return will be great news for Texas, whose lineup has unsurprisingly lost some bite without him.

While Calhoun’s no Gallo (not yet, at least), he also came out of the gates well before his IL stint. Calhoun has been down May 22 with a strained left quad, but he could return as early as this Monday, Wilson writes. The former top prospect, 24, raked at the Triple-A level at the start of the year before the Rangers recalled him in mid-May. Thanks to his stint in the minors and his injury, Calhoun has picked up just 24 PA in the majors this year. But his .435/.458/.739 line and two HRs are welcome signs for a young player who fell flat with Texas and its Triple-A team last season.

As for Bush, he hasn’t taken a big league field at all since undergoing surgery on a partial UCL tear in his right elbow last September. However, the 33-year-old could be back in the majors before the month’s out. Bush struggled mightily during his injury-shortened 2018, but he was a useful part of the Rangers’ bullpen in the two previous years. During his three-year, 137-inning Rangers tenure, Bush has pitched to a 3.35 ERA/3.65 FIP with 9.07 K/9 and 3.09 BB/9.

Rangers Notes: Minor, Leclerc, DeShields

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Entering the season, it looked like a foregone conclusion that the Rangers would make Mike Minor available on the summer trade market, but their 31-28 record and current presence in the thick of the AL Wild Card picture has muddied things, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. At the very least, despite the fact that Minor is 31 years old and signed through 2020, the Rangers will have to at least explore the possibility of extending him, Grant surmises. At present, the team is in a strong position regardless; it’s easy to point to their record and proximity to a Wild Card spot in telling other clubs that they’d need to be blown away to consider a move. And if they’re able to sustain this play through late July, of course, then Minor will become a vital piece to a more legitimate push toward an unexpected playoff berth.

Minor, through 81 1/3 innings this year, has a 2.55 ERA with 9.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and 0.89 HR/9. As Grant notes, his dominance actually extends back into 2018, when he closed out the year with a terrific 17-start stretch. About two thirds of respondents in last week’s MLBTR poll on Minor’s future felt the organization should trade him; they’ve gone 4-2 in the six games since.

Here’s more out of Arlington…

  • Minor himself addressed the situation when talking with Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, acknowledging that he keeps up with trade rumors throughout the year. Minor feels that it’d be a mistake to make such a move with the Rangers playing well and voiced confidence that the team can continue to keep pace in its push for a postseason bid. “I know something could happen, but my honest opinion is if they do trade me, they’re going to go out there and buy a bunch of free agents this off-season,” said Minor. “Unless they’re getting young, controllable guys back.”
  • Jose Leclerc is “getting close” to reclaiming the ninth-inning role, manager Chris Woodward said again this week (link via Wilson). Leclerc had an absolutely awful start to the season due to shaky control, but over the past month he’s notched a 1.76 ERA with a ridiculous 28-to-6 K/BB ratio in 15 1/3 innings of work (16.4 K/9). “I just love the kid so much,” said Woodward of Leclerc. “He wants to win so bad. He’s willing to do whatever we ask. He’s been pitching lights out. Just the command with his fastball and getting the weird swings with his changeup. Yeah, it’s getting close.”
  • Delino DeShields connected with a walk-off single to cap a four-hit showing last night, and Wilson’s piece also looks at his chances of sticking on the roster. Woodward feels that DeShields’ swing “looks so much better and more efficient” after a brief reset in the minors. DeShields is getting another look at the moment due to injuries sustained by Joey Gallo and Willie Calhoun, but Texas will eventually have that trio, the resurgent Hunter Pence, Shin-Soo Choo and Nomar Mazara all in the mix for outfield and DH at-bats, creating a bit of a logjam. DeShields still needs to demonstrate that he can have some prolonged success, of course, but he’s off to a nice start in trying to force his way back into the mix. Notably, Wilson adds that Calhoun could begin a minor league rehab assignment next week.

Quick Hits: Braves, Keuchel, Rangers, Calhoun, Yanks, Giants, Rays

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Reports have pegged the Braves as one of the favorites to sign free-agent left-hander Dallas Keuchel, but David O’Brien of The Athletic throws cold water on that possibility. The Braves have inquired about Keuchel and do have interest in him, per O’Brien, though he writes their interest has been “overstated.” Atlanta has not engaged in deep negotiations with Keuchel, O’Brien adds. The latest from O’Brien jibes with a Tuesday report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who wrote that the Braves are “uncomfortable” with the idea of paying Keuchel the prorated value of the $17.9MM qualifying offer (approximately $11.5MM).

  • Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun landed on the 10-day IL on May 22 with a left quadriceps strain. It turns out the injury will likely keep him out of their lineup until at least late June, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggests. The 24-year-old Calhoun, a former top 100 prospect, was amid an encouraging season before he went to the IL. Not only did Calhoun hit .304/.416/.557 with eight home runs and more walks (22) than strikeouts (19) in 138 Triple-A plate appearances, but he got off to a .435/.458/.739 start with a pair of HRs in 24 major league PA.
  • The Yankees and Giants were among the many teams that showed interest in outfielder Harold Ramirez during his brief stay on the open market last offseason, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The Blue Jays outrighted Ramirez on Nov. 20, and he ended up signing a minor league deal with the Marlins exactly a week later. The 24-year-old has since given the offensively challenged Marlins some much-needed production, having slashed .346/.386/.449 (128 wRC+) in 83 plate appearances.
  • Rays outfielder Tommy Pham has been out since May 30 with a strained right calf, but it appears he’ll avoid an IL stint. The club expects to plug Pham back into its lineup Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relays. Pham’s enjoying his third straight prodigious campaign at the plate, with a .300/.414/.483 (145 wRC+) line, eight home runs and 38 walks against 43 strikeouts in 244 attempts.

Rangers Place Willie Calhoun On IL, Recall Delino DeShields

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The Rangers announced today that outfielder Willie Calhoun is heading to the 10-day injured list with a strained left quadriceps. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by fellow outfielder Delino DeShields.

It’s inopportune timing for the 24-year-old Calhoun, who just got a long-awaited promotion back to the majors. He has been in good form since coming up, slashing .435/.458/.739 with a pair of long balls in two dozen plate appearances.

There’s no reason to think the injury will be more than a speed bump for Calhoun, who was the headlining prospect of the 2017 Yu Darvish trade. But he hadn’t really thrived in his new organization since that swap, struggling especially in limited opportunities at the game’s highest level. Calhoun earned his way back up with a strong beginning to the season at Triple-A.

DeShields was demoted earlier this month after another rough showing at the plate. He just hasn’t hit enough since the start of the 2018 season to warrant a steady MLB roster spot, though his speed and defense remain appealing tools. DeShields wasn’t exactly tearing the cover off of the ball at Triple-A, with a .211/.318/.421 slash in 44 plate appearances since going down, though that was an improvement over his major league output.

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