In pursuit of their first World Series since 1988, the Los Angeles Dodgers dipped into their farm system at the non-waiver trade deadline last season, dealing one of their top prospects, Willie Calhoun, and others, to the Texas Rangers for four-time All-Star Yu Darvish.
There are no questions about how talented Calhoun is at the plate, but there were some about his ability to play the field. Calhoun doesn’t have a clear position, which is why the Dodgers trading him to the American League where the left-handed slugger can serve as a designated hitter made for a natural fit.
Less than one year since being sent to the Rangers, Calhoun admitted he was not happy when he found out about it, via Jacob Unruh of NewsOK:
“I was pissed at first,” Calhoun said about the trade. “I just realized it’s all a business. Baseball is a business and getting traded is a good opportunity with the Texas Rangers.”
Calhoun began the 2018 season with Triple-A Round Rock, mostly because of his deficiencies in the field. He believes that he can be a good defender:
“I don’t know if they believe if I can play good defense but I believe that I can,” Calhoun said. “I don’t have any errors so far and I have two outfield assists. I had some assists last year as well. I feel like I’m getting ready, I am ready and I guess we’ll see.”
The 23-year-old did see some time at the Major League level last September for Texas, batting .265/.324/.353 with a home run and 4 RBI in 13 games.
The Dodgers play the Rangers this season at home on June 12 and 13, and then again on Aug. 28 and 29 in Texas, so it will be interesting to see if Calhoun is back in the Majors by then to face his former franchise.
