DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Texas Rangers have activated outfielder/designated hitter Willie Calhoun off of the 60-day injured list and he'll be in the lineup against the Houston Astros Wednesday night.
To make room for Calhoun on the 40-man roster, the Rangers have designated LHP Hyeon-jong Yang for assignment.
Calhoun will be the Rangers designated hitter and will hit in the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
The 26-year-old will be making his first appearance since June 26 after suffering a forearm fracture on a hit-by-pitch. Calhoun was slashing .254/.323/.385 with five home runs and 19 RBI at the time of the injury.
Rangers manager Chris Woodward talked about how important it is for Calhoun to get at-bats over the club's final 18 games during his weekly visit with the K&C Masterpiece on 105.3 The Fan.
"I think it's big for him. Obviously, it's big for all of us to get our eyes back on him to see him perform," Woodward said on Wednesday's show. "I think just for his psyche, just going into the offseason with some confidence. Kind of, regardless of how well he does. Just getting back in big-league games, getting some at-bats, getting a feel for getting back in the batter's box will be really important for him. Ideally, we'd like for him to have some success to finish on a positive note. But it is important for him.
"He's worked really hard. He's been unbelievable through this whole process. The growth I've seen in this kid, maturity-wise ... a couple of years ago, he would have had a hard time handling it, and he's had some things to deal with over these last two years - getting hit in the face. Obviously, last year was really, really difficult for a number of reasons. And this year, obviously, breaking his arm. He hasn't really performed that well in the meantime. It's a small sample size, so it's really not fair to judge (him based off of that). But it'll be nice to get him back and for him to have some success."
Woodward went on to say that the club isn't ready to give up on Calhoun being a big part of the roster in the future, pointing out his 2019 season when he hit .269/.323/.524 with 21 home runs and 48 RBI in 83 games.
Listen to the audio below (starting at 16:00).
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