Dodgers sign Kole Calhoun, Mike Montgomery to minor league contracts

The Dodgers signed a pair of veterans to minor league deals on Tuesday, with outfielder Kole Calhoun and left-handed pitcher Mike Montgomery joining Triple-A Oklahoma City. Alex Freedman, Oklahoma City’s play-by-play broadcaster and director of communications, announced both transactions.

It’s a busy few days for minor league deals, with reliever Ryan Brasier also reportedly signing on, though he hasn’t yet joined a full-season affiliate.

The 35-year-old Calhoun was a non-roster invitee in Mariners camp this spring before opting out at the end of spring training. After signing with the Yankees on April 20, Calhoun hit .281/.391/.528 with four home runs and 12 extra-base hits in 23 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before opting out of that deal over the weekend.

Calhoun is a career .262/.344/.589 hitter against the Dodgers, with 12 home runs in 43 games, having faced them numerous times while with the Angels and Diamondbacks. That makes this a “killing two birds with one stone” move, in that at the very least the Dodgers won’t have to face him.

During his 11 years in the majors, Calhoun is a .243/.316/.418 hitter with a 101 wRC+ and 173 home runs. He hit .196/.257/.330 with 12 home runs and a 67 wRC+ last year with the Rangers.

The 32-year-old Montgomery last pitched in the majors in 2020 with the Royals. He spent part of 2021 pitching for Samsung in the Korea Baseball Organization, then last year had a 6.72 ERA in 69⅔ innings in Triple-A Syracuse in the Mets system, with 54 strikeouts and 33 walks.

In parts of six major league seasons with the Mariners, Cubs, and Royals, Montgomery has a 3.84 ERA in 541 innings, with 415 strikeouts and 204 walks. He got the final out of the 2016 World Series for the Cubs, earning the save in the 10th inning of Game 7 to end Chicago’s 108-year championship drought.