Angels, Josh Hamilton Nearing Deal

1:21pm: The sides are nearing a five-year deal, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). People connected to the team seem confident a deal will get done, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).

12:59pm: The Angels are getting close to a deal with Josh Hamilton, Yahoo's Tim Brown reports (on Twitter). The deal with the Moye Sports Associates client is not quite done, Brown adds. Joe McDonnell of FoxSportsWest.com first reported that the Angels were involved in serious talks with Hamilton (Twitter link).

This would mark the second time in as many winters that Angels owner Arte Moreno and general manager Jerry Dipoto have signed an elite free agent unexpectedly. The Angels signed Albert Pujols to a ten-year deal at last year's Winter Meetings to the surprise of many.

If the Angels complete a deal with Hamilton, he'd join a lineup that already includes Pujols and Mike Trout. An agreement could put Peter Bourjos and/or Mark Trumbo on the trade block, however.

Hamilton received and turned down a qualifying offer from the Rangers, which means he'll be linked to draft pick compensation. The Rangers would obtain a compensatory selection for losing Hamilton, and the Angels would have to surrender their top 2013 pick (#22 overall) to complete a deal.

This post was first published on December 13th, 2012.