The Rangers are planning to watch free-agent outfielder Josh Hamilton work out prior to Christmas, reports Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. If everything checks out, Texas will consider signing Hamilton to a minor league pact, GM Jon Daniels tells Wilson.
The Rangers released Hamilton back in late August, although at the time reporters (including Wilson) explained that the decision was largely procedural. Texas released Hamilton to free up a 40-man roster spot and also to create the opportunity for Hamilton to be re-signed and play with the team early in the 2017 season.
[Related: Texas Rangers Depth Chart]
Hamilton still has one year remaining on the five-year, $125MM contract he signed prior to the 2013 season (the Angels are on the hook for nearly all of his 2017 salary), and if Texas had waited to release him until after the season and then re-signed him to a minor league deal, Hamilton would’ve been ineligible to play in the Majors with Texas until May 15 of next year. Releasing him in August created some needed 40-man move and also allowed for the possibility that Hamilton is healthy enough to contribute in a part-time role early next year. It’s been expected that the Rangers would ink Hamilton to a minor league deal for quite some time, as the player himself even told Wilson that he was expecting as much prior to his initial release.
Now 35 years of age, Hamilton underwent a pair of knee surgeries last season that proved to be more serious than initially expected. Hamilton underwent surgery to repair some meniscus damage in early June last year, but upon beginning the operation, Dr. Walt Lowe discovered enough damage to the anterior cruciate ligament that an ACL repair was also required. That surgery effectively ended Hamilton’s 2016 campaign — a season in which he was never able to take the field in the Majors.
Once one of the game’s most feared sluggers, Hamilton’s tumultuous career has been in a downward spiral since he signed in Anaheim four years ago. While he delivered respectable production in his first two years with the Halos — .255/.316/.426 — Hamilton never came close to the heights he reached with the Rangers, for whom he batted .305/.363/.549 from 2008-12. He was traded back to Texas in 2015 after a relapse into substance abuse seemingly fractured his relationship with Angels management. The Rangers are on the hook for just $2MM of Hamilton’s 2017 salary, while the Angels are paying him more than $26MM in the final season of his deal.
If Hamilton does land with the Rangers, he certainly won’t be counted on for any kind of regular role with the team. Rather he’d have to earn a roster spot with the club come Spring Training, and even if he were to make the team, it’d likely be as a part-time outfielder and designated hitter. The Rangers currently have Shin-Soo Choo, Carlos Gomez and Nomar Mazara lined up in the outfield, but the DH situation is a bit murkier. Joey Gallo could potentially fill that role, though it’s been reported this winter that the team would ideally like Gallo to open the season in the minors. Choo could also line up as the team’s DH next year and beyond, though they’d need to bring in some additional corner outfield help in that scenario.
His career has been crazy to say the least. Will be interesting to see if he can come back (i doubt it)
Who’s josh Hamilton? He plays… lol
Your ignorant
Says the one who doesn’t know correct grammar you’re *** stupid 😉
i don’t claim perfection but where’s the period? kc
who is kc38? What has he ever done?
Probably much more than ThatGuy
And sixth grade computer hour is over, thanks for your participation guys.
grammar police and name calling… if I wanted to read this carp I would go to YouTube
crap*
he should sign with the Angels on principle alone. that dude stole their money…. yes yes yes. I am well aware it was Arte’s fault and his alone. but that dude stole 125 mil.
So true
I personally wish him nothing but the best. I hope he can continue his clean and sober path. As far as baseball goes… I hope he never touches the field again in anything other than an Angel uniform.
Part of the risk. Why don’t you ask the Giants about Zito? Or the angels about Gary Matthews Jr? Or the Diamondbacks about Grienke so far?
I wouldn’t put Greinke in that category.
32 mil plus and had the year he did? I would until he does differently. But that’s just me.
yea, we could list bad contracts all day long, but paying Hamilton to play against you as a member of your division rival, now that’s a double whammy
Zito’s game 5 in the 2012 NLCS made that contract not sting nearly as much. Most Giants fans don’t even care about the contract because of that game.
You could ask the Angels about quite a few guys. More dumb contracts than a boxed hair farm.
Don’t be like that with players who at least put on a uniform and attempted to play the game through major injuries at least. There have been some.. Albert Bell of the orioles comes to mind right away, Fielder another.. Who just took off with massive FA money.
Hamilton has endured multiple major injuries,and if he comes back? it’ll be for peanuts. That big contract he gets regardless. THAT shows a love of the game itself, unlike Albert 9bad attitude” bell had and that fat fielder ever had.
Prince Fielder is medically disabled due to his neck issues and not cleared by doctors to play. He physically cannot play anymore. It’s incredibly disrespectful to blatantly lie about his situation. I don’t know what you’re so bitter about, but clearly Josh Hamilton’s own health issues are not at a point where he is physically unable to play.
Um no offense, but Fielder that’s a serious issue it’s not an ankle it’s not a hip etc. it’s literally his neck. We aren’t talking about just hobbling in life with pain, but the potential for severe life altering injuries. That’s just my take.
they also received big insurance money. Arte was dumb and took out no insurance on Hamilton. therefore he pays all of it no matter what. I stand by my first and second statement
Hey princess, why don’t you just watch the WNBA and leave baseball to the real men?? What an ignorant turd
WNBA is actually very competitive to watch
You mean Albert Belle
Nothing wrong with Albert Belle. He signed a big contract, produced almost two seasons of MVP caliber work, then was diagnosed with a degenerative hip condition (I think). He gets a bum rap for his attitude, but he was everything my O’s hoped he would be until the unforeseen and uncontrollable medical issues.
fielder played for 6 months risking his life. he had the kind of neck injury that if he would have had a collision at first he could have died. I don’t think you know what you are talking about. fielder broke down in tears to know that he was never going to play the game again. yes he got money but the man played through a more severe injury than any other player in history. there is no reason you have any right to clump fielder in with bell. it was not his fault that he had to quite. and in advance we accept your apology on behave of fielder for what you said.
Josh Hamilton didn’t steal anything. The Angels signed him and didn’t pay any attention to the level of detail the Rangers organization put into his personal care and management. The baseball world knew 14 years ago what an unrestrained Josh Hamilton would do with his life, and they didn’t bother to do anything to prevent it.
“…personal care and management.” Wow. The concept of personal responsibility is lost on you. The Angels were as responsible for Hamilton’s personal choices as your employer is for yours, if you have a job. The last thing any employer should worry about is treating grown professionals like children so they don’t hurt themselves. Hamilton is a victim of his own choices and behavior and it is entirely his fault. I hope Hamilton can live clean and be productive. But your comment is just ignorant.
but that is the point. his decisions are almost that of a child. he has no self control. as a team wanted to sign him and wanting to keep him on the field you either manage his life or put a clause in his contract releasing you from obligations if he relapses. that’s where the angels messed up.
I agree that consequences of behavior should have been part of the contract. But that’s different than saying his “personal care and management” was the responsibility of the Angels as gammaraze suggested.
“The baseball world knew 14 years ago what an unrestrained Josh Hamilton would do with his life, and they didn’t bother to do anything to prevent it.” That’s just silly. I’d like gammaraze to explain what he thinks Hamilton is responsible for.
Let me add that although his behavior is child-like, Hamilton is not a child. He’s an adult who is getting paid outrageous money for his gift. He should be treated like an adult. The burden doesn’t shift to the Angels because he chooses to act otherwise.
I’ll agree, but also add that in any sort of normal work environment, Hamiltons issues would have made him a non-hire at anything close the massive salary he received. Most people work with non-guaranteed compensation.
While the Angels shouldn’t have had to run a nanny service for Hamilton…their sheer investment in him financially should have meant a greater commitment to his wellbeing…..perhaps nothing would have mattered anyway….but it would basically have been the maximizing value for the Angels. A person buys a car for 1k…they leave it in the drive and it hails out…no great deal. Angels bought a Ferrari with a questionable engine…then didnt invest in upkeep. Its not really a question of whether they SHOULD have to police him…ita a matter of covering their investment.
That contract was a joke the second it was signed though. Moreno was tossing cash around like crazy…and the idea of Hamilton out of his Texas cocoon and in LA of all places just reeked of trouble.
Good analogy. I think personal responsibility should be the prevailing message though, instead of the coddling that some people expect.
Absolutely. That needed to occur well before Hamilton ever got to the Angels. This just shows us how far a person with acute ability can go in this world. Hamilton would have had a hard time staying alive…let alone retaining employment anywhere…let alone the chances given by the same basic employer time and again. Addiction as sickness or not…his salary is guaranteed.
No, it is your comment that is beyond ignorant. You look at the situation and knowingly laugh in the face of the truth. Your comment alone DIRECTLY validates my assertion that Josh Hamilton didn’t steal a single penny.
Apparently Red_Line_9 and thor would look better in red understood my point while you were fixated on the word “personal”. You ARE aware that employers look at prospective employees’ social media pages to disqualify them if they deem their social behavior to be questionable, aren’t you? So if regular employers are doing this for jobs at $30k/yr, why wouldn’t an MLB team do something for those at $25M/year?
Josh Hamilton is responsible for his own actions, and their consequences, but you seem to ignore that the Los Angeles Angels are responsible for their own. There is no way that the Rangers would have signed Josh Hamilton to a $5M/yr contract without making sure he had a great support team, much less a $25M/yr deal.
And you might think part of my comment is silly, but 14 years ago, after the 2002 season, Josh was already out of baseball with a drug and alcohol addiction. The public has known about addiction for over 40 years, it’s not like the Angels had missed a recent study in an obscure medical journal. The end of the story is the Angels signed a high-risk player to a high-risk deal, and did absolutely nothing to protect their investment. They might as well have signed a pitcher coming off of Tommy John and an ACL tear to a $125M contract with no insurance policy.
The only thing I’d add is that while a company might look at the social media content of a potential employee….30k employees are a dime a dozen…a company can pitch resumes if they like. A major league baseball player..let alone one of Hamiltons healthy caliber is essentially rare. Not many industries generate their income from the direct creative production of 700 employees that are the peak of their profession. Actually, mlb, resembles Hollywood quite a bit…and thats also why Hollywood stars can crash and burn and come back. These industries arent built on heart, they are largely built on milking the golden cow until another cow comes along…Bryce Harper…Trout.
I really think Josh Hamilton needs to take the riches he’s earned and learn to live without the pressures of baseball. He’s not a young man as an athlete any longer.
That contradicts your initial comment that I criticized. In it, you clearly stated that it was the Angels’ responsibility to prevent Hamilton from “screwing up” (my words). The only thing the Angels should have done to protect their investment was add a behavior clause to the contract that covered substance abuse. They were foolish for not doing that knowing that he had a history of issues. I never said that I disagreed with you about JH not stealing money. Both parties entered into the contract knowingly. But if you say now that JH is responsible for his own actions, we agree.
That contradicts your initial comment that I criticized. In it, you clearly stated that it was the Angels’ responsibility to prevent Hamilton from “messing up” (my words). The only thing the Angels should have done to protect their investment was add a behavior clause to the contract that covered substance abuse. They were foolish for not doing that knowing that he had a history of issues. I never said that I disagreed with you about JH not stealing money. Both parties entered into the contract knowingly. But if you say now that JH is responsible for his own actions, we agree.
Phi447— this came up a long time ago on this site, but the mlbpa will not allow “character clauses” in contracts. Players are dealt with on a disciplinary level when infractions occur…and the penalties are union negotiated as part of the CBA.
While a character clause seems to be common sense….the implications of a team seeking to potentially break a bad contract are dark.
Its the benefit of having a skill set that makes billions for an industry.
Technically he is still signed with the Rangers except that Arte Moreno now hates the sight of josh so much, that he’s paying the Rangers to take him. He’ll come back next season and hit 40 HR and Moreno will throw a fit lol
Yeah, theft… you know, how Hamilton coerced them into signing and then failed on purpose
Hamilton didn’t steal squat. Arne and the Angels willingly offered that contract. Hamilton didn’t force the Angels to make that ridiculous offer, he just signed it and said “thank you very much”.
arte falls in love with certain players. He flipped over Josh Hamilton and CJ wilson because they went to the World Series. Arte thought he had “robbed” the Hated Texas Rangers of their two best Players.
Who the hell would want to sign with the halos? They have Mike Trout. They also have ……..Mike Trout. Oh I guess that’s it!
Old man Pujols! Hurts to watch him round the bases.
He did not steal it. The dumb ass Angels gave it to him. LMAO!!!
Someone that would like to play in a warm environment in front of 45,000 people in a large market and be paid atleast a million to do it for a season. Most guys probably would line up to play for the Cubs in 2017…but the roster space is limited.
Among the players who quit on the Angels (Vernon Wells and Gary Matthews Jr), doper Josh Hamilton is worse than both put together. Bad signing deluxe! Should’ve kept Tory Hunter and skipped on Senor Rehab.
You couldn’t have said it any better Tory Hunter wanted to resign there to but Arte told Hunter straight up we don’t have the money to resign you! And then Arte signs who to that huge contract???? Then Hunter comes out and completely rips Arte for lying to his face!! I’ll never forget that!
misunderstanding what’s being said is all that happened. when Arte told Torii Hunter (seriously, a guy plays for you team for 5 years and you can’t even spell his name right?!) that they didn’t have enough money for him, it’s because Arte was already budgeting for Hamilton.
Misunderstanding hahaha!
Then why didn’t Arte tell Tori we are just going in a other direction and plan on sign someone else? Cause he didn’t have the balls! I know in most cases it’s not gonna happen but in Tori’s case he deserved it and that’s why he was so pissed afterwards! He was the heart a sole of that club house everybody look up to him in that club house! And every since he left its been nothing short of disaster!
Still can’t spell Torii? Wow…
Arte isn’t obligated to tell Torii anything, and saying the team doesn’t have the money and they are going in a different direction are effectively the same thing, Torii isn’t going to be back. There’s not a team out there that’s not willing or unable to sign ANY player… those players are just unwilling to sign for what the team is willing/can afford to pay them. If Torii had been willing to sign for $5M/year, he would have been back, even with the addition of Hamilton.
If you go back and read some of arte’s quotes you will find that he is a pathological LIAR. Moreover, he talks in circles and unintelligible sequences. For instance, when he hired Jerry DiPoto, arte said, “Jerry has complete power”…He induced Jerry to take the GM job based on that. But, arte had NO intention of keeping his word.
Jerry, eventually, resigned. Lying to Torii Hunter was despicable. Torii was the heart and soul of the Angels.
at the end of the day, you can’t blame him for taking the deal no other team was willing to offer him. he is wand was an addict. bad move on both parts. he should have taken less with rangers and been happy
yup..the rangers had a better support for josh..he should’ve never left texas.
Actually the Rangers were willing to match any offer. Hamilton had a gentleman’s agreement with them but broke that to sign with the Angels. And then he broke his agreement to stay sober while with the Angels. See the pattern there?
But we all know it was really his wife that made him take the deal in LA…
Actually Josh never intended to resign with Tex that offseason. Ron Washington went up to Josh after he missed that pop up in Oakland in a day game and asked him “did you drop that on purpose?”. Josh was so upset that his own manager thought that he would miss a ball on purpose that he never intended to resign with Texas. Words from his mouth, not mine.
it was widely known that he was going to let the rangers match any offer. the angels decided to play a game, threw down the huge offer and said this offer expires when you leave the room. I bet arte felt so sneaky at the time. I don’t blame josh for taking it and not letting the rangers know.
“Gary Matthews Jr”
PED fraud. He should be in prison.
We can go on and on about the Angels….. Not proud to be a fan of them.
Then why not get a new team ?
Always liked him, I can’t say I wouldn’t have done anything different in his shoes. All the power to him.
At least Hamilton has injuries and a drug problem to blame. You guys remember that bum Figgins that forgot how to play BB when he came to Seattle? Lol That guy stole money with no excuse or sorry. Every team has a few it is part of the game.
Hamilton forgot how to play BB with the Angels before he even relapsed. And Figgins does have injuries to blame. His hip flexor issue is what led to the call up of Kyle Seager.
a 110 OPS+ says you don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.
nice of the rockies to wait this long to tell blackmon he’s not trade bait
I can’t stand Josh Hamilton. He’s such a fraud and waste of talent. Remember when he was a FA and said “I’m going to pray about it, and go wherever the Lord tells me to.” Yeah… He went to the highest bidder: The Angels.
He became addicted to Christianity the same way he was addicted to drugs.
Full of crap Josh Hamilton is.
If you’re going to hate every athlete that says that God is going to influence their landing spot then signs wherever the most money is, you’re going to hate a whole lot of free agents. Do you hate Dexter Fowler as well?
Maybe so, but did Dexter Fowler have a Gentleman’s Agreement with his team to allow them to review and match/counter an offer?
BTW, <3 when article writers join in the conversation.
I think its hard to really say what is in someone else’s heart. Being a Christian wouldnt necessarily wipe away the consequences of past addiction. Darrell Porter was much the same way. People can have real beliefs and fail sometimes. Christians aren’t beyond beyond greed, and its even possible that some can try to convince themselves gods will is the easy choice. Wealth is something we’d all love…but very few of us know what changes it makes to us or in those around us….or what personal pressures anyone else truly goes through.
Hamilton is a chump.
as a life long Halos fan, arte is both the best & worst thing that’s ever happened to this team. throwing insane amounts of $ at players unworthy of those contracts just to try to keep up (and let’s not even discuss the stupidity of the name change). personally, as a baseball fan, i loved hamilton when he was at his best, but torri went on to have productive years until he retired and should have been resigned. when the ROY priases the tutalidge from a player, you should do all you can to retain them. but arte also is to blame for the Albertross contract and, if hamilton stole $…cj wilson did the exact same. and now, with the best player in baseball…you can’t field a supporting cast and he’s just being wasted.
How exactly did cj steal money? Is it because he got injured ?
my point was merely if someone is gonna say hamilton stole money…you could say the same about wilson. he too was overpaid for his services & didn’t play out the contract. in basic premise, it’s the same
Point is well taken but cj wanted to pitch for the angels and didn’t want to cost the team by trying to push through the injuries and if you take a look at his last start he was not good so he got the surgery to be ready for the following season.
Angry Angels fans, but Josh isn’t to blame: Arte Moreno is. There were signs that guys like Josh and Pujols were slipping at the end of their prior contracts, but Arte went out and overpaid them to try and buy a Murderers Row for his team. It was dumb. That’s why owners should leave the player decisions to somebody who does the research. Did Moreno inherit his money because he doesn’t seem like he knows much about running a business properly.
From what I understand about Arte, he gained his massive wealth through real estate and building major developments over the years. I don’t know how much of his money was inherited. He’s actually a very savvy businessman, but the same can’t be said for his acting as a “baseball GM.” Of course, it would seem that anyone who owns major businesses like a major sports owner typically does, that he or she would assume his or her savviness would translate to making sports decisions.
Arte reminds me a lot of a Jerry Jones type guy. He’s both great and difficult for the success of his team.
I’m an Angels fan, but I’m not mad at the decisions that Arte made. I know the Angels were really good throughout the early 2000’s, winnnin multiple divisions, having some good teams with good players, and some good series’ in the playoffs. But, I think Angels fans forget the history of the team.
The Halos were ALWAYS the underdog, prior to 2002. The team has 1 World Series Championship and 1 WS appearance. Many Angels fans (not all) get livid when the team doesn’t sign a popular FA, but then get livid when the FA’a they do sign don’t play at the level they played on their previous teams. Many of the same Halos fans act as if every player at every position should be a perennial all-star or future HOF’er. It’s unrealistic expectations of sustained success that makes Angels fans grow weary with the team and then threaten to jump ship if “Arte doesn’t leave” or “turn it around.”
I understand the desire to win, every fan wants that for their team. But some of those names mentioned above were and are at least entertaining to watch–just like it will be entertaining to watch Albert Pujols hit his 600th homerun in an Angels uni. come May, 2017. How many players have hit their 600th homer in the Halos’ red? Or even his 500th, for that matter?
Slipping or not…that kind of change for a 32 year old Pujols and for Hamilton was crazy at the time even….it was going to need to pay immediate dividends…and didnt
Still one of my fav players in the last 10 years. Hope he can stay on the field for 140 games and go through a few of his mega stretches of production.
Here’s hoping JH gets back on the field. The HR Derby at Yankee Stadium remains a great baseball memory. Good luck, JH.
That time he lost to Justin Morneau.
After setting a single round record, and stopping with 6 outs to go in the 2nd round, coming up only 6 shy of the total record… and being the last player to have his name chanted in the House that Ruth Built.
Haha! I read your comment as if Vin was reading it aloud. Thanks for gracing us with your presence Vin.
Please come to Boston,lol
Sometimes it’s better to just rip the bandaid off. No clue why Texas feels the need to give this guy chance after chance.
Exactly what type of chance you think you would have to offer him? His salary is already paid, you wouldn’t offer him an invite to spring training? Remember he costs you nothing
Josh Hamilton will likely face great struggles without the game in his life. But he really does need to focus on that transition.
Hamilton can’t even take a nap without getting injured. I guess they have nothing to lose by giving him a shot, but expectations are super low.