Los Angeles Angels: Kole Calhoun to Undergo Core Muscle Surgery

For the past three years, Kole Calhoun has been a key player for the Los Angeles Angels. While he now needs core muscle surgery, he is expected to be ready in plenty of time for 2017.

In 2016, the Los Angeles Angels had one of their worst seasons in recent years, going just 74-88 and finishing in fourth place in the AL West. The Angels did, however, get excellent seasons out of superstar Mike Trout and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols.

In addition to Trout and Pujols, right fielder Kole Calhoun turned in another productive season as well. However, the Angels have now announced that Calhoun will be undergoing core muscle surgery.

Since his first full season in 2014, Calhoun has quietly been very productive. He has hit .266/.327/.436 during that time period. This year, he hit eight fewer home runs than he did in 2015 (he went from 26 long balls to 18), but he arguably had his most well-rounded season to date.

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Calhoun’s .271/.348/.438 triple-slash translated to a 117 OPS+, and his 35 doubles were a career-high. Despite his lower home run total, his .167 ISO was actually identical to the mark he had the year before. He spent most of his time this season batting either first, second or fifth for manager Mike Scioscia.

The 28-year-old Calhoun’s 4.0 fWAR was also a personal best. It didn’t quite place him in elite territory, per se, but was good enough to rank eighth among qualified outfielders in the AL, which is quite an accomplishment.

Going into next season, the Angels will have their work cut out for them in a division that also consists of the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners. It certainly doesn’t hurt that they have a player in Trout who led MLB with a 9.4 fWAR, but they will need additional help.

Putting the bats aside, it will be particularly interesting to see how the Angels’ rotation fares in 2017. This past season, the Angels’ starting staff looked good on paper, but they dealt with a number of injuries. L.A.’s starters combined for only a 4.60 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP, ranking 11th and 14th in the AL, respectively.

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It is never a good thing to learn that a player needs offseason surgery. That said, the fact that Calhoun should be ready for Spring Training will come as a relief for Angels fans. The Halos will still have other questions to answer, but their 2017 Opening Day roster will clearly be stronger with Calhoun on it.