Says so all over the baseball interweb.
The Los Angeles Angels were supposed to be out of money. They were supposed to be looking for a pitcher. Instead, they’resigning Josh Hamilton to a five-year deal, beating out the Rangers for the services of the 2010 MVP.
So the upside is Rangers fans will still get to see Hamilton many times a year. Just in a different uniform.
(And yes, this news is so important we’ve posted it twice. Deal with it.)
It’s another blow in an offseason that has not gone the way the Rangers would have liked it to have gone. No Zack Greinke. Mike Napoli gone. No Justin Upton. Ryan Demspter off to the Red Sox.
A lot of production has been subtracted from their lineup with nothing significant added. At this point, it looks like Jurickson Profar and Mike Olt – their hottest prospects – may need to perform extremely, extremely well next season for the team to compete again for the division title.
But it’s also worth noting that a five-year contract is something the Rangers are likely glad not to have given to Hamilton. It’s too much of a commitment to a player who in a few years will likely not be worth what the Angels will be obligated to pay him. In 2013 though? Looks like there will be a monster of a lineup in Anaheim.
