Arizona Diamondbacks: Kole Calhoun signs in the Desert

Fresh off the signing of Madison Bumgarner, Mike Hazen and the Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a deal with Kole Calhoun.

After the Angels decided against picking up his option, Kole Calhoun has signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks on a 2 year, $16M deal with an option for a third year.  With Jo Adell waiting to take over in right field, it was a near lock that the Angels would decide against Calhoun’s $15M option.  Calhoun seems to have done well for himself given that the market for corner bats has found itself ice-cold the past few offseason.

This is an excellent move by the Diamondbacks as they continue their high wire retool without rebuilding act.  Despite struggling to start the year, Calhoun finished with a solidly above average .232/.325/.467 line good for a 108 wRC+.  He also chipped in a career high 33 home runs and 2.5 fWAR.  That fWAR total would have been the second highest among Diamondbacks outfielders last season and tops among their corner outfielders.

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Looking at his Statcast profile, you can see that Calhoun has maintained an average exit velocity but still has an above average Hard Hit Rate. His speed and defense metrics are slightly below average but with good positioning and a continued climb in strikeout rate, he will be a serviceable right fielder.

This move upgrades and replaces the production and lefty swing the Dbacks received last season from Jarrod Dyson.  Thanks to Ketel Marte‘s other worldly 7.1 WAR performance last season, the Dbacks were a top 10 OF unit by WAR.  The Calhoun signing should ensure that the Dbacks again trot out a strong group of outfielders with Calhoun in the fold and David Peralta being healthy for the entire season.

Calhoun has been an unheralded but excellent contributor that has gone unnoticed (as most would do with Mike Trout to their right).  At 32, he is probably past his peak, but even a league average version of Calhoun is a solid upgrade for a Diamondbacks team that flirted with a wild card berth until the last weekend and can probably contend for a slot this season.

The Arizona Diamondbacks continue to make solid moves that raise the floor of their team and give them the opportunity to compete in an NL West dominated by the Dodgers.  This isn’t the blockbuster  signing that pushes a team over the top, but it brings in a sturdy outfielder who is an upgrade over what they already had.