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Rangers positional preview: Kole Calhoun brings veteran presence to RF

After being a first wave free agent signing afterthought, outfielder Kole Calhoun is expected to be the regular right fielder for the Rangers in 2022.

DALLAS — The parallels to winter 2000 are there for more than just Corey Seager and his Alex Rodriguez-esque contract that the Texas Rangers embarked on to revitalize the moribund franchise of recent years. 

Just as when the Rangers signed A-Rod to his then-record breaking 10-year, $252 million dollar deal, Texas has sprinkled in additional veteran signings to try to help Seager put the franchise over the top.

If you squint, Andres Galarraga and Ken Caminiti signing for the 2001 season could be comparable to Marcus Semien and Jon Gray joining the spending spree in 2022. And then there’s Mark Petkovsek and Kole Calhoun.

Of course, Semien and Gray are of a different caliber than Galarraga and Caminiti at this point in their careers. Semien is a superstar who joins with Seager to form arguably the league’s best middle infield tandem. Gray’s signing would have been considered one of the top free agent additions in team history if not for the fact that he came to the team in the hours between when it was announced that Semien and Seager were changing the landscape for the Rangers.

If Gray was rendered an afterthought, what chance did Calhoun have?

When the Rangers went all in on Rodriguez ahead of the 2001 season, the fourth member of the free agent quartet was reliever Petkovsek. He was better left forgotten after producing an ERA of 6.69 in 55 games for Texas before unceremoniously retiring following the first year of his two-year deal.

The Rangers are hoping for much more than that from the fourth member of their binge session from a couple of decades later as Calhoun is expected to get plenty of time as the likely regular right fielder for the Rangers in 2022.

In addition to trying to make a name for himself among other signees, Calhoun also has some big shoes to fill at his new home as the former Arizona Diamondback will be taking over for Joey Gallo after the latter had blossomed into a perennial All-Star and Gold Glover at the position. 

Before being shipped off to the New York Yankees before the trade deadline last summer, Gallo had been the team’s last remaining star from the Ballpark in Arlington era but, with him now in New York, the Rangers are hoping that Calhoun can bring a veteran presence and some thump to the bottom of the lineup while playing a serviceable right field. 

Thirty-four-year-old Calhoun spent the first eight seasons of his career as a rival in the AL West with the Los Angeles Angels where he hit .306/.361/.500 when playing in Arlington as an opponent to embed himself as a thorn in Texas’ side. 

Calhoun also had an OPS of .864 in his first season after signing with Arizona in 2020 but was limited to just 51 games in 2021 where he hit .235/.297/.373.

In his eight full seasons in the league, Calhoun has a career OPS of .748 and has averaged just under 20 home runs per year with a career-high of 33 in 2019. The 2015 Gold Glove outfielder has seen his defense taper off with age, but he’s not considered a liability in the field.

Along with Calhoun, the Rangers have Zach Reks, Jake Marisnick and Eli White fighting it out for the fourth outfielder job, and they join Brad Miller, Nick Solak and Willie Calhoun, along with Adolis Garcia, to form what should be the outfield unit in various configurations throughout the year. 

Outfield prospects close to the majors is one of the weaknesses of the farm system for Texas, but if Leody Taveras makes enough strides to warrant a return to the big leagues, you could potentially see the Rangers move Garcia back to right field full-time with Taveras manning center field.

In the meantime, Calhoun will be given the shot to bounce back from a down, injury-filled season with an opportunity to make his mark alongside the rest of the historic free agent class for Texas.

Do you expect Calhoun will get the majority of playing time in right field for the Rangers in 2022? Make your predictions with us on Twitter @BaseballTX

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