The New York Yankees signed free-agent Kole Calhoun on Thursday. The team’s official media handle made the news public on Thursday that they had agreed to terms with the outfielder Kole Calhoun to play for their minor league affiliate. The exercise is viewed as an effort to add depth to the Yankees outfield that looks shaken after injuries to their big names Harrison Bader and Giancarlo Stanton.
Kole Calhoun, who PSI Sports Management represents, participated in the Mariners’ spring training but ultimately decided to opt out of the minor league deal they had offered him.
Who is Kole Calhoun?
The 35-year-old Arizona native was signed by the Angels in the eighth round of the 2010 MLB draft and debuted with the big league club in 2012. Kole Calhoun won a Gold Glove in 2015. During his professional baseball career, he also showed up for Texas and Arizona.
He was a productive regular player for the Angels until 2019 and then for the Diamondbacks in 2020. Between the years of 2013 and 2020, Kole Calhoun had a total batting line of.249/.324/.431 (106 wRC+), and he was consistently a quality defensive player while also giving some value on the bases.
In 2015, he hit 26 home runs, and he hit approximately 20 round-trippers every year on average. During the truncated 2020 season with the Diamondbacks, Kole Calhoun even hit 16 long balls in the 54 games he played in during that season. He hit 33 home runs in 2019.
In 606 at-bats split between the Diamondbacks and the Rangers, who Kole Calhoun joined in the 2021 offseason, over the course of those two years, the former Angels right fielder had a batting line of just.208/.269/.343 despite playing for both teams. However, a rough patch in 2022 cost him his MLB job.
Kole Calhoun played for the Seattle Mariners in the spring with a batting line of.250/.314/.281 in 35 at-bats and is looking to bounce back from a pair of challenging seasons in 2021 and 2022.
Kole Calhoun’s walk rate was approximately 10% when he was at his greatest, and his strikeout rate was 21%, which was lower than average. However, in 2021-22, when he was at his worst, his walk rate was 6.9%, while his strikeout rate was 29.2%.
Kole Calhoun’s Gold Glove win
Although Kole Calhoun has been awarded a Gold Glove in 2015, his defensive ratings have been on the decline since he reached his mid-30s. As a result, his overall career averages in 9240 innings played in the right field have been a little bit worse than average. For example, he has a total of -4 Defensive Runs Saved over the course of his career.
Where will he benefit the Yankees?
While Aaron Judge has spent most of his time in center field for a second consecutive season, the Yankees’ corner outfielders as a whole have been ineffective this season. Left fielders Oswaldo Cabrera, Aaron Hicks, and Franchy Cordero have a combined batting line of.219/.275/.297. Right fielders Franchy Cordero, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Willie Calhoun have a combined batting line of.191/.222/.441 thanks in large part to an early power surge from Cordero.
Even with Judge’s hot hitting and Cordero’s four home runs before entering a prolonged slump, the Yankees outfielders have combined for a batting line of.226/.282/.426 so far this season. And Stanton, who has a batting line of.269/.296/.558 this year with four home runs, will be out of action for up to six weeks due to his injury.
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Yankees have added some affordable depth, given Stanton’s injury and the general level of struggles they’ve seen from their current corner options, despite the fact that the newly signed Kole Calhoun may not ultimately prove to make an impact. Two full seasons have passed since his last productive showing.
But it is surprising to see the Yankees add a player who has been productive in the past. After being away from game action for nearly a month, the Yankees sent Kole Calhoun to their Florida Complex League squad so that he could get back up to speed. However, it is expected that Kole Calhoun will soon be sent to the Triple-A team in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
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