Former Top Rangers Prospect Wants Trade After Demotion

The 2022 MLB season hasn't gone as planned for the Texas Rangers, who have kicked things off with an AL West-worst 8-14 record. To make matters more complicated, one of the organization's former top prospects is now looking for a trade.

Outfielder Willie Calhoun has told The Athletic that he'd like a trade after the Rangers demoted him to Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday. The move was done due to MLB teams needing to trim their roster to 26 players, however, the 27-year-old said he'll use the demotion to "put myself in a position to get traded."

Willie Calhoun Trade Rumors

Calhoun has had a rough start to the current season, leading to his demotion. He's recorded only one home run and two RBIs in 44 at-bats, batting .136. Despite these struggles, Calhoun is confident that a "change in scenery" can help him reach his potential.

"I know I can be a .300 hitter. It’s gonna be in a different uniform, for sure … I don’t know if I’ll play another game in a Rangers uniform. And I let them know that."

- Willie Calhoun

A fourth-round pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015, Calhoun was sent to the Rangers as part of the massive Yu Darvish deal in 2017. Unfortunately, the veteran outfielder hasn't been able to stay in the Majors, averaging just 47 games played in each of the previous five MLB seasons.

Injuries have limited Calhoun at various times in his career, but his lack of MLB success could be because of his own doing. He admitted to The Athletic that he doesn't always agree with the hitting coaches and doesn't "process that (information) too well." Until he decides to adapt and learn, his potential might be limited.

Nevertheless, Calhoun has racked up 48 HRs and 168 RBIs with a .296/.363/.506 slash line in 1,062 career Triple-A at-bats. It might not take long for a team to come calling if he can still prove to be that sort of player following his demotion.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.