12:09pm: Hamilton intends to try his hand at first base, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets. Presumably, he could also factor in the corner outfield and DH mix. The organization has been rumored to be pursuing alternatives at first and DH, where Joey Gallo and Jurickson Profar currently rate as the top options on the depth chart.
11:38am: Texas has announced the deal. Hamilton will earn at the league-minimum rate if he makes it to the majors, Heyman tweets. That’s not surprising, of course, as Hamilton’s free-agent deal ran through the 2017 season. Most of his $30MM salary will be paid for by the Angels, though the Rangers did also take on a total of $6MM (for the 2015-17 seasons) when they acquired Hamilton.
11:18am: The Rangers have wrapped up an agreement to re-sign one-time star slugger Josh Hamilton, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). A deal has been expected since late in 2016.
Hamilton’s minor-league pact will give him the right to opt out on April 1 if he has not yet been added to the MLB roster. He’ll obviously hope to earn a spot in the major-league mix during spring camp, but it’s not known whether he’d look to pursue an opportunity elsewhere if Texas doesn’t offer him a big league job to open the year.
There remain many questions facing the 35-year-old Hamilton, who was expected to play a significant role for the Rangers last year but ended up requiring consecutive knee surgeries. The veteran outfielder made a brief and largely uninspiring appearance with Texas in 2015, after he was acquired from the Angels, but hasn’t put together a full season since 2013.
While Hamilton didn’t maintain his All-Star-level production upon leaving the Rangers to join the Angels in 2013, he did manage to put up a .255/.316/.426 batting line — good for a 110 OPS+ — during his two years in Los Angeles. If he can return to that sort of hitting, he’d likely be a solid piece for the Rangers, though talent has never been the lone issue. Hamilton, after all, has long dealt with balky knees and battled substance abuse, and he’ll need to maintain his overall health in order to be a productive member of the organization.
could he possibly DH for the Rangers?
Why not work him out at firstbase at least in ST? Until Texas signs Napoli or Trumbo, they don’t have many options there anyway.
Hey looks like I was right. Points for me.
was the PTBNL to the angels from texas ever announced? baseball reference doesn’t say
It was for cash
Let him DH or play 1st for four days, then see if he can still pitch (every 5th day) lol! He’s still got a cannon!
When will Brady Dragmire be DFA’d?
I wonder what he has left in the tank at 35. Gotta say I will certainly be pulling for him to stay mentally sharp and contribute something on the big stage. Addiction is an ugly disease. He has the potential to be very inspirational to others fighting the same fight.
I imagine it’s been hard for him to be away from the game, especially those white lines.
You’re a loser Josh and a cheater.
What an absolutely ignorant comment.
Josh suffers from addiction and has overcome so much in his life to achieve what he has.
How exactly has he cheated? If anything his addiction has set him back not helped him cheat.
You’re a sad person with a terrible outlook on life
Whatever he was on… (nicotine?) as soon as he was off, he fell apart. But Age could be a factor… not every player plays well into their 30s, some players have a shorter peak window than others. Especially if you’ve put your body through hell with drugs/alcohol addiction. Google Faces of Addition it’s insane.
I googled “Faces of Addition” and all of the people are beautiful, except the first one… no one wants to look like a minecraft character. Spelling matters
He cheated the Angels by deliberately not living up to the contract generously given him. He cheated us Angel fans by putting his facination with drugs and alcohol ahead of the game.
How does it feel to be the most hated person on TradeRumors right now?
He’s probably used to being the most hated person his entire life with an attitude like that. He’s not smart enough to realize that Arte Moreno knew of his history, took a chance, and lost
My lord. No other disease except the disease of addiction does a person get blamed for having. Addiction isn’t a failure, it’s not about willpower, it’s not about money or having people in your life who “love” you. It’s a disease. We don’t shame people who have cancer or ulcerative colitis, but addiction? Step right up and condemn with moral righteousness.
That’s a crock: if anything, the Angels cheated Josh by not giving him the same support system he needs and got always from the Rangers. You and Arte Moreno expected Josh and Pujols to decimate opposing pitching and you were wrong. Be a man and accept it without whining like a little b.
Let’s be clear here, had he made the decision not to partake in drugs and alcohol he wouldn’t be addicted to them. He CHOSE to partake and thus made him go down that road. You and the medical world can call it a disease but it’s something you choose to get into. Had he not chose to do drugs and drink, he wouldn’t have this “disease” now would he? Exactly. It’s a “disease” by choice not by birth. There’s personal responsibility regardless of the excuses you want to make for people. You can choose to do something about it and use willpower, yes, willpower to get away from it or continue down that road. It’s your choice to have that “disease” you weren’t born to grow up and be addicted to drugs/alcohol. NEXT!…….
Wow! Quit making excuses for this guy! Josh is a loser bottom line! He and his agent told the Angels he was clean, rehabilitated, sober, etc.. Too bad the Angels took the word of a loser and didn’t have language in the contract to protect the club. Hamilton’s attorney found a loop hole to self report and he got his money. Angels didn’t want this cancer/liar on their team. If this piece of trash was such a “”good guy” he would quit baseball and learn to become a parent to his kids. His wife divorced him for many, many reasons. He has millions of $$ and many generations of Hamilton’s will not need to work. But, money does not buy class or time. Parents have a very small window to be around the kids when they’re young, full of wonder and needs the guidance of their parents. Donate money to help others rehab. But, Hamilton is too selfish to do that. He is obviously running from his responsibilities of being a “Dad”. He is guy that fortunately pays alimony and child support, but not a parent/Dad. Probably a good thing this loser isn’t around to influence his kids!
When I was 19 I got into an accident at Work were a Car slammed into a Propaine Tank and me at the Same time I broke my back and had some pretty bad Burns …….. After a year of being Prescribed Oxycotin and Fentanyl I couldn’t Stop when I got better …… At 25 I stumbled into Rehab a defeated man A man who couldn’t understand how pills and a patch had Decimated my life and brought me to my Knees ……. I’m 29 now and have 4 years Clean but Addiction can come at you from anywhere ….. It doesn’t Discriminate White ,Black ,Female ,Male , Short or Fat ……. It’s somthing you have to Experience to Understand just how hard it is
And the painful stupidity continues.
Addiction is a disorder. He has been addicted to many things not just drugs and alcohol (remember when he was addicted to red bull)
And having an addiction means in some ways it’s out of your control. You don’t chose to be a addicted.
Serious get off your high horse and develop some empathy
Oh now he deliberately stunk up the place when joining the Angels? Ok tool … I guess he conspired with the Rangers to make the moron Angels grossly overpay like they always do and had a side deal where he would go stink to help the Rangers and then force a trade where the Angels would send him back to the Rangers and pay the freight.
Then he became a double agent by conspiring with the Angels to go stink for the Rangers …
Dude if you no nothing about anything just stay quite and read the posts. Do not try to play.
Better to be quite and let everyone think you are a moron then to speak and prove it!
You have a moral high horse and zero intelligence, you should try being one of those Christians and not judge people . Oh , wait they judge constantly and without remorse …. hypocrite.
Eww. Just ew. You are a sad person. Go troll elsewhere.
Eww. Man-up
At least he’s a man…what’s your excuse??
Ban hammer coming soon.
He is more of a man than you will ever be.
No doubt he deserves some compassion but I’m confused as to why his being an addict makes him “more of a man.” Nearly all people have some form of struggles but precious few are compensated to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.
You’re a truly despicable person. Stop hiding in your mommy’ basement and being a tough guy behind the keyboard. Get off your lazy ass, and actually go get a job. Idiots like you deserve to be banned from the adults on this site actually enjoying discussing the great game of MLB
Jesus you’re a clown.
I didn’t realize Trump was an Angels fan…
I completely disagree with this. However, that doesn’t mean we should all ruin the comments section with all our hateful thoughts. It just makes the site boring and not worth reading the comments section.
Agreed
I lost respect for him after the angels situation. I don’t care if it seems insensitive, he literally quit and stole money from the team. I won’t feel sorry for someone making a hundred million dollars with infinite resources to help with his problems and a wife who loves him. Sorry.
You need to look up the definition of “literally”
thank you. oy, that irks.
Actually he got divorced (he filed) in 2015 after his last relapse.
Guess she got tired of putting up with his lies.
guess he got tired of being with someone that cared about their status over the health and well being of their spouse…
Joey Gallo has a Clay Buchholz aura about him, a guy with much hype and potential, but will he put it together? Gallo has plenty of holes in his swing.
Gallo = Pedro Alvarez with a better glove.
If you’re looking for consistently average production and discounts on cocaine, there’s not a better bargain available.
Wow…did you really just come up with that, all by yourself?? Here’s a news flash-Believe it or not, you are actually not the first person to make a statement like that. So the next time you try to be an inconsiderate moron, at least try and be original
You are really upset.
Look like it or not his past happened. It’s real. You can’t run away from it.
You should try being less salty though.
Obviously you haven’t dealt with someone who has or had an addiction. To insinuate that he is dealing on the side or trying to be clever with such a statement is disingenuous.
You clearly have not dealt with someone who has/had an addiction. To try and insinuate that he is dealing on the side or trying to be clever with such a statement is rather disingenuous. He’s not salty for being upset with your ignorant comment.
I know plenty of people with addictions, they joke about their own addictions.
Nothing is above humor, it’s unfortunate that you guys take things so seriously.
I think the original response to your post was more upset that your “joke” wasn’t funny.
Then one can express that without the pretentious elitist attitude demonstrated in the original response.
now who is salty?
Josh is a loser bottom line! He and his agent told the Angels he was clean, rehabilitated, sober, etc.. Too bad the Angels took the word of a loser and didn’t have language in the contract to protect the club. Hamilton’s attorney found a loop hole to self report and he got his money. Angels didn’t want this cancer/liar on their team. If this piece of trash was such a “”good guy” he would quit baseball and learn to become a parent to his kids. His wife divorced him for many, many reasons. He has millions of $$ and many generations of Hamilton’s will not need to work. But, money does not buy class or time. Parents have a very small window to be around the kids when they’re young, full of wonder and needs the guidance of their parents. But, Hamilton is too selfish and obviously running from his responsibilities of being a “Dad”. He is an addict that fortunately pays alimony and child support, but not a parent/Dad. Probably a good thing this loser isn’t around to influence his kids!
Hamilton has lots of perseverance. He could’ve just made almost $30,000,000 and done nothing about it but instead he’s actually playing his heart out and actually trying to make things right with the angels, rangers, and the fans. I feel bad for everyone who still think that he’s a messed up loser. If you do, you have problems.
Josh is a chump.
Manny Ramirez or Griffey JR has a better shot at making the big league roster. The kid sure put on a show in that one HR Derby a few years ago though
I am rooting for Josh. He has made some terrible decisions with his life, but anyone that truly knows his story, the whole thing, would love to see him have some degree of success, and I’m not just talking baseball. Should have been a hero of World Series legend. Wife has father babysit to ensure payday, and dogs Texas publicly for not extending, essentially burning the bridge with the place he loved, where he was very celebrated, and most of all familiar with. Fan dies attempting to catch ball tossed in stands, which I felt of all players Josh was the worst it could happen to. Like I mentioned before, he made his own decisions, but there’s got to be a better ending to his story… Or at least give him credit for trying, he’d make the same amount doing nothing at all. Losing his wife and fighting addiction, the guy probably needs baseball more than most can see. Good luck, Josh. You don’t have to be good, just be healthy and enjoy your kids. And if it turns out you’re good too, then so be it. Go Rangers…
Well said, he could be cashing in doing nothing many would. I think he has good intentions.