D-backs agree to terms with Kole Calhoun on a 2-year contract
PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to terms with OF Kole Calhoun (@KoleCalhoun) on a 2-year contract with a club option for 2022. The 40-man roster is now at 40.
Calhoun, 32, ranks third among all AL outfielders since 2014 in RBI (416) and total bases (1,406), trailing Mike Trout/LAA (533 RBI/1,758 TB) and Mookie Betts/BOS (455 RBI/1,616 TB) respectively. Additionally, Calhoun is fourth during that span with 132 home runs, behind Trout (217), George Springer/HOU (149) and Betts (137), and 821 hits, which are fewer than only Betts (935), Trout (881) and Brett Gardner/NYY (834).
Defensively, the former Arizona State Sun Devil (2009-10), is a 4-time American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award® finalist in right field (2015, ‘17-19), including winning the top fielding award in 2015. In the last 5 years (2015-19), Calhoun leads all right fielders with 6,478.0 innings and 45 assists.
Calhoun, a 2006 graduate of Buckeye High School, will become the sixth D-back to play baseball in high school, college (4-year university) and the Major Leagues in Arizona (also: Jake Barrett, Tuffy Gosewisch, Merrill Kelly, Cody Ransom and Ed Vosberg), and eighth Sun Devil to don a D-backs’ jersey (also: Willie Bloomquist, Jake Elmore, Mike Leake, Deven Marrero, Barrett, Gosewisch and Kelly). Calhoun was teammates with current D-back pitcher Merrill Kelly at Yavapai College and ASU.
Calhoun, who was born and resides in Tempe, Ariz., set career highs in 2019 with the Angels in home runs (33), slugging pct. (.467), OPS (.792), extra-base hits (63) and runs scored (92). He was the first Angels right fielder with 30+ home runs in a season since Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero in 2004 (37), and is the third right fielder in club history with multiple 25+ homer campaigns (also: 2015), joining Guerrero (2004-06) and Tim Salmon (1993, ’95-97, 2000) [stats as right fielder only].
In 8 Major League seasons with the Angels (2012-19), Calhoun hit .249 (884-for-3,547)/.322 OBP/.424 SLG with 167 doubles, 17 triples, 140 home runs, 451 RBI, 367 walks and 530 runs scored in 966 games. He has also appeared in at least 152 games in 4 of his last 5 seasons (2015-17, ’19). The 5-foot-10, 215-pounder was selected in the eighth round of the 2010 draft.