FORT WORTH, Texas — Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun is back in Texas and will be able to start light workouts soon in his recovery from a broken jaw.
The Rangers said Tuesday that Calhoun was examined by Dr. Steven Wiener in Phoenix and cleared to travel before flying back on a team charter Monday night.
“This team is my family, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Calhoun tweeted Tuesday.
Calhoun’s jaw was broken when he was hit in the face by a fastball during a spring training game on March 8. He was taken off the field on a motorized cart and airlifted to the hospital. Wiener performed surgery the following day to insert a plate and stabilize the jaw.
The Rangers said Calhoun had no other current symptoms outside the jaw fracture and would be able to start light cardio activity later this week.
Calhoun hit .269 with 21 homers in 83 games last season. He is expected to start in left field for the Rangers, who traded outfielders Delino DeShields and Nomar Mazara over the winter. It looked as if Calhoun would begin the season on the injured list before Opening Day was delayed indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias, a former minor league teammate and friend of Calhoun’s, threw the pitch that hit Calhoun. The left-handed hitting Calhoun was drafted by the Dodgers in 2015, and traded to Texas in July 2017 in a package for Yu Darvish.