Kole Calhoun Comes to the Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday reached a two-year deal with free agent outfielder Kole Calhoun. He will make $6 million in 2020 and $8 million in 2021. The deal also includes a $9 million club option for 2022 with a $2 million buyout. That’s a two-year, $16 million guarantee from the Diamondbacks.
How Kole Calhoun Arrived in Arizona
The Los Angeles Angels did not want to pick up Calhoun’s one-year club option for $14 million dollars for the 2020 season. So, they made the move to buy out the last year of his contract for $1M. They know that Jo Adell is the future for them in right field.
He had drawn interest from four other teams — the Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Cincinnati Reds — but chose Arizona due to being a local player. Calhoun went to Buckeye High School and was the West Valley High School Baseball Co-Player of the Year. He then played college baseball for Yavapai College and Arizona State University.
Where He Will Play
Calhoun arrives at Spring Training as the primary starter in right field. He has played 942 games there and has a .985 fielding average with 58 assists. He won a Gold Glove in 2015. We will see him play DH against the AL teams during inter-league play and he has played nine games at first base.
Home Run Power
In 2019 he had a career high 33 home-runs and has 140 over his eight-year career. His batting average has fallen off each year since 2016, but he made a dramatic turnaround last June. He reinvented his swing and finished with an .800 OPS and 18 homers over his final 87 games.
Players with Arizona Ties
The Diamondbacks now have their sixth player with ties to the state of Arizona. Along with Calhoun, Kevin Ginkel, Josh Rojas, Merrill Kelly, Mike Leake and Kevin Cron all have a connection to the state of Arizona.
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