Texas Rangers: Smart move sending Willie Calhoun to the Minors?

Earlier this week, the Texas Rangers decided to option prospect Willie Calhoun to the minors. Therefore, his quest to making it on the Opening Day roster is over.

As we know, Calhoun is one of the prospects the Texas Rangers received from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the trade involving Yu Darvish last season. For him to be optioned to the minors this early in spring training is worrisome for Rangers fans.

It seems that the 23-year-old prospect is not yet ready to play at the major league level. Rangers manager Jeff Banister says Calhoun will be a good player, but at the moment he needs to work on his defensive skills. It’s quite a surprising move because many thought he would manage to land a spot on the Opening Day roster.

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Calhoun played 13 games last season on the main roster. He had a batting average of .265 with nine hits and one home run. Not bad for his first stint in the majors but apparently there’s much need for improvement. He’s been doing very well in AAA.

We can expect Calhoun to spend at least two months in AAA Round Rock before getting another call-up to the majors. The Rangers can’t rush him. They need to be ready. He’ll need to be improved on defense by the time he gets promoted again. While he makes an impact with his unique hitting skills, he needs to make an impact on defense as well. He’s still got a bright future ahead of him, so he should take his time and learn.

If he’s off to a great start this season in AAA, then by the time he gets another call-up to the majors, he’ll be motivated and much more focused, which means he’ll have a much better stint in Arlington than he did last September.

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He needs to take it all step by step.