Calhoun was left "speechless" after the club decided to send him down to open a spot for Hunter Pence, who was ready to be activated off the injured list Tuesday.
“I helped the team win. I don’t know what else I would have done. At the end of the day, if that’s what they want to do, if me helping the team win is me playing in Nashville, then I guess I’m going to have to play every day in Nashville,” Calhoun said to reporters.
Rangers manager Chris Woodward said Calhoun was told that with Pence’s return the club didn’t want to keep seven outfielders.
“It was a tough one,” Woodward said. “It kept us up. He really has done everything to stay here.”
We now know that it was a tough one, indeed, as Jon Daniels and his staff considered jettisoning out Mazara or Guzman in Calhoun's place.
The obvious problem with optioning Guzman is that you'll be left with too many outfielders. Mazara on the other hand, is a left-handed hitter just like Calhoun, and their defensive abilities are comparable.
Mazara was a former rising star in the Rangers farm system, but to this point, he's never reached his full potential. The decision to keep him up can be questioned as he's hitting .258 with only 12 home runs in 330 at-bats.
“We want him to be better,” manager Chris Woodward told Wilson of Mazara. General manager Jon Daniels believes Mazara has “been a solid contributor,” but “he’s got another step he can get to."
Calhoun, who started 17 games while Pence was out, has hit .277 with five homers and 13 RBIs in 26 games overall this season.