Former Dodgers Top Prospect Involved in Blockbuster Trade Signs With Mexican League Team
Former Los Angeles Dodgers top prospect Willie Calhoun is continuing his baseball career in the Mexican League, as he’s signed a deal with the Tigers de Quintana Roo, per an MiLB.com Spanish article.
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Calhoun, 30, was drafted by the Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2015 draft, and skyrocketed up the team’s prospect ranks to the No. 4 overall prospect in 2017.
However, Calhoun never got higher than Triple-A in the Dodgers organization, as he was traded to the Texas Rangers at the 2017 trade deadline along with A.J. Alexy and Brendon Davis for right-handed pitcher Yu Darvish. Calhoun was the headliner of the deal, with Alexy and Davis ranked in the back-half of the team’s top 30 prospects at the time.
Calhoun debuted with Texas in 2017, and was with the organization until midway through the 2022 season, when he was traded to the San Francisco Giants. Over the last two years, he’s appeared in games at the MLB level with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels.
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Calhoun’s best season as a pro came in 2019, when he appeared in 83 games with Texas, slashing .269/.323/.524 with 21 home runs, 48 runs batted in, and an OPS of .848.
However, Calhoun hasn’t hit more than six home runs in a season outside of the 2019 season, and most recently, hit .245 with five home runs, 20 RBIs, and an OPS of .695 in 2024 with the Halos.
Now, Calhoun will look to continue his playing career in Mexico, with the hopes of likely returning to MLB at some point.
Over the course of his eight-year career, Calhoun has accumulated just over four years of MLB service time and has earned a little more than $4.2 million.
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Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
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