Texas Rangers May Not Call Up Willie Calhoun Anytime Soon

Many expect Willie Calhoun, one of the Texas Rangers top prospects, to be called up soon. Jon Daniels may not be on the same page as fans though.

Many fans are hoping to see Willie Calhoun get the call to the big league level in early May. The young outfielder started out 2017 in Triple-A to work on his defense in left field. Coincidentally, the Rangers can also maintain an extra year of service time on Calhoun. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweeted out earlier that Jon Daniels hasn’t considered Calhoun’s call up citing the May 3rd service time date as a non-factor.

Grant goes on to reference Ronald Guzman as evidence the Rangers are not looking to manipulate service time. Guzman was called up earlier this season as depth for the numerous infield injuries the Rangers have faced. Grant mentions that if Texas had waited another week to call up Guzman, they would have maintained an extra year of team control over him as well.

With Calhoun seemingly not being called up in the next few days like some had thought, questions now point to his relationship with the Rangers front office as a reason for the delay. Willie Calhoun, earlier this season, vocalized his frustration with starting out the season in Triple-A feeling that he had nothing left to prove at that level. Feeling he was ready developmentally for the majors, he made no secret that he was not happy with Texas for assigning him to the minors.

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In on the field terms, the Rangers reported that the reason for Calhoun’s assignment is to develop more defensively. Known as an offensive threat, Calhoun had recently made the switch to left field after his trade to the Rangers at the deadline last year. The consensus is that Calhoun is a very average defensive player who really could use some development. This seems the real reason that the youngster finds himself in Triple-A early on this season despite rumors. Regardless of service time or personal frustrations, I still think we’ll see Willie Calhoun in Arlington by the end of the month.