The SF Giants have players throughout their organization slated to become free agents this offseason. On Wednesday, corner bat Willie Calhoun became a free agent, according to the minor-league transactions tracker. Calhoun received a brief big-league stint with the Giants in September but was outrighted to Triple-A and finished the season in the minors.
Calhoun started his career in the Dodgers organization, emerging as a consensus top-100 prospect in the minor leagues during Farhan Zaidi and Gabe Kapler's tenure in Los Angeles.
The Dodgers eventually used Calhoun as the cornerstone of their trade package to acquire Yu Darvish from the Texas Rangers at the 2017 MLB trade deadline. The Rangers quickly gave Calhoun a big-league opportunity, and he emerged as an everyday player.
By 2019, Calhoun seemed to be one of the best young hitters in MLB. While injuries limited him to just 83 games that year, he recorded 21 homers with a .269/.323/.524 triple-slash as a 24-year-old. It seemed like he was living up to his potential and destined to be a middle-of-the-order bat in Texas for years to come.
Instead, Calhoun has never been able to replicate that power production and was unable to take the next step in his career. Calhoun posted a .490 OPS in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and hit just .250/.310/.381 in 2021.
The Rangers worked with Calhoun to try and generate more power with his swing. Unlike other players who were able to take their performance to another level with similar changes, though, Calhoun never felt comfortable.
In 2022, after a bad start to the season, Calhoun was optioned to the minor leagues and requested a trade. Eventually, the Rangers dealt Calhoun to the Giants in exchange for outfielder Steven Duggar.
Calhoun was noticeably more productive in the Giants organization, hitting .291/.377/.453 with five home runs, 19 walks, and 22 strikeouts in 42 games with San Francisco's Triple-A affiliate. He only appeared in four games with the Giants, though, and managed just one hit in eight at-bats.
The biggest questions surrounding Calhoun have been defensive. Calhoun has below-average range and arm strength and inconsistent glovework. While he was primarily a second baseman early in his career, he's shifted to first base and left field defensively and, frankly, is probably best suited as a designated hitter.
Given Zaidi and Kapler's history with Willie Calhoun, it would not be surprising to see him re-sign with the SF Giants on a minor-league contract this offseason. For now, though, every MLB team will have an opportunity to negotiate a new deal with Calhoun after he became a free agent earlier this week.
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