Rangers' Willie Calhoun Demands Trade After Demotion To Minors

Willie Calhoun has wanted out of Texas for a long time, according to a report.

As part of their effort to trim their roster from 28 players to 26 ahead of Monday's deadline, the Texas Rangers optioned catcher Sam Huff and outfielder/DH Willie Calhoun to Triple-A Round Rock. 

Huff comes without any surprise. Though he played a very solid game in Saturday's win over the Atlanta Braves, he was only in Arlington to cover for Jonah Heim's trip to the MLB Paternity List.

On the other hand, a demotion to Calhoun definitely turned a few heads. The surprises didn't end there. In a report by Levi Weaver of The Athletic, Calhoun expressed his desire to move on from the organization.

“(I’m) gonna go to Triple A and put myself in a position to get traded,” Calhoun told The Athletic. “I do want to be traded.”

The 27-year-old also added that he's been wanting out for "the last year, year and a half," and needs a change of scenery to become the hitter he envisions himself to be.

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Calhoun started off the year with a healthy dose of bad luck. He was hitting balls hard, but found gloves much more often than grass. Even after his recent 0-for-11 slump, Calhoun still ranks in the 61st percentile in average exit velocity. 

In addition, Calhoun has had some exceptional at-bats where he's drawn walks in key spots. His analytics back up some solid plate discipline thus far, as he ranks in the 93rd percentile in strikeout percentage, 91st percentile in walk percentage, 99th percentile in whiff percentage and 97th percentile in chase rate.

But, as good as some of the analytics are, the actual results have not been there. In 53 plate appearances, Calhoun is slashing .136/.283/.273/.556 with one home run and two RBI. In addition, Calhoun's ranking in the 38th percentile in hard hit percentage and 13th percentile in barrel percentage are troublesome for a guy trying to hit line drives.

Comments from manager Chris Woodward after Sunday's win over the Braves summed up Calhoun's season pretty well. They also revealed the main reason why leadership decided to option him.

“Early on, I feel like what we were seeing was good. It was trending in the right direction,” said Woodward. “I think lately, it’s gone a little bit backwards. He’s still walking, he’s not chasing. Some of the peripherals have been pretty good. But the swing itself, the movement, we’ve asked him to work a little bit more vertical with his swing. I don’t want to get too technical, but some of the old over-the-top, out-and-around swings are showing up often, especially on pitches in the heart of the plate."

Calhoun had one option remaining, which also made him a target to be demoted without performance. On the contrary, another struggling outfielder like Kole Calhoun can refuse an option thanks for more than eight years of MLB service time.

In the report from The Athletic, Calhoun also said he does not agree with the hitting philosophies from new bench coach and offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker and new hitting coach Tim Hyers. He said he does not process the information well and—since he was acquired—feels like the organization has tried to turn him into a power hitter instead of the "line-drive/doubles" guy he was in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.

Chris Woodward talked at length about Calhoun on Sunday, saying they haven't seen the hitter he was in 2019 when he not only hit 21 home runs in 83 games, but could spray the ball all over the field "at will."

Regardless of perspective, the one thing that can change Calhoun's circumstance is performance. Woodward said a strong performance in Triple A will get him back in the big leagues sooner rather than later. This is echoed in higher ranks.

"With performance comes opportunity," said Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels in a comment to InsideTheRangers.com. "We've asked Willie to go down, play regularly, and work on some things. The rest will take care of itself."

Calhoun doesn't have history on his side in terms on demanding a trade. To be fair, there have been circumstances that have derailed his career at times. A 95-mph fastball that broke his jaw in spring training of 2020 not only affected him physically, but mentally as well. Another hit-by-pitch cost him over a month and a half of playing time last year.

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Willie Calhoun after hit by pitch in 2021

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Donnie Ecker (right)

Ben Ludeman / Courtesy of the Texas Rangers

Tim Hyers (left)

Even then, Calhoun has a career .707 OPS in 846 big-league at-bats and is essentially a DH-first player at this point in his career. His most recent consistent performance in the big leagues dates back to 2019. In addition, this is not the first time Calhoun has been openly critical about the organization. He voiced his frustrations about not making the Opening Day roster in 2018 and 2019. Now, he's publicly criticizing two respected hitting coaches with successful track records will surely do more harm than good. 

In other words, it might be a while before Daniels or general manager Chris Young field any calls for Calhoun.

It remains to be seen if Calhoun has played his last game in a Rangers uniform. But there is only one thing that has to happen in order for either party to possibly get what they want out of a tough situation.

"The key to this whole thing is performance," Woodward said. "I know that there's other guys on our team not performing. I'm not gonna say he's the only one. We're not singling out him. ... Some of these guys need to perform as well. In Willie's case, I feel like it could really help him if we can get him down there, get some consistent at-bats and hopefully perform."