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In dealing Josh Hamilton, Angels will close an odd, expensive chapter

Jorge L. Ortiz
USA TODAY
Angels owner Arte Moreno lavished a $125 million contract on Josh Hamilton in December 2012, but after a drug relapse, he angled to be rid of Hamilton this spring.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Before they head north to play two series against the San Francisco Bay Area teams this week, the Los Angeles Angels will have today off, providing them a chance to reflect on the events of the last few days – and perhaps even catch Josh Hamilton's explanation about his return to the Texas Rangers.

Hamilton's trade back to the Rangers is not official, so no reintroductions are in order yet. The proposed swap – with no other player involved – has to be approved by Major League Baseball and the players association because of the amount of money involved and because Hamilton would be forfeiting about $6 million of the more than $80 million left on the five-year, $125 million contract he signed in December 2012.

With Hamilton forfeiting money - expected to be made up by Texas' lack of a state income tax - and the Rangers kicking in about $2 million a year, the Angels are expected to pay Hamilton $68 million to go away.

And end a strange and at times ugly saga in the franchise's history.

"It seems like every time we move forward getting kind of a plan of action, stuff moves slower," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said when asked if the club has moved on from Hamilton. "Whatever branch this thing takes, this thing takes. Guys in this clubhouse are focused on one thing, and that's going out there and winning games. It has not been a distraction."

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But it has dominated the conversation, as those near and far from the situation ponder the notion of a team being so desperate to get rid of a player that it would be willing to take such a huge financial hit while getting no assets in return. The $68 million figure would easily be the largest severance pay a team has absorbed. It even exceeds the minimum $61 million the New York Yankees would have paid had they preferred Alex Rodriguez never wear pinstripes again.

Then again, in word and deed, the Angels made it clear they didn't want Hamilton around since he reported to MLB officials an offseason relapse in his longstanding battle with drug and alcohol abuse.

Team owner Arte Moreno wanted Hamilton suspended, and Angels officials – who are not commenting on the trade reports – were aghast when an arbitrator ruled that MLB could not sanction him.

"The Angels have serious concerns about Josh's conduct, health and behavior, and we are disappointed that he has broken an important commitment which he made to himself, his family, his teammates and our fans," general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement.

Angels players, in the meantime, have been caught in a no-man's land of wanting to support their teammate, being aware of who signs their paychecks and trying to win games without the 2010 AL MVP.

"You did the only thing there was to do, which was to go play baseball," closer Huston Street said. "There were a lot of moving pieces, and I think everybody in here respected the process. All we really did was try not to speculate and hope for the best outcome for a friend and our teammate."

The fans have been less diplomatic, apparently siding with Moreno, and not just because he keeps beer prices at Angel Stadium among the lowest in baseball.

Vaughn-sized bust

Until Hamilton came around, Angels fans held Mo Vaughn as the standard for free agent contracts gone horribly wrong. Vaughn, the AL MVP in 1995 with the Boston Red Sox, signed a six-year, $80 million contract with the Angels in December 1998 and soon saw his production decline.

But while Vaughn delivered at least 33 home runs and 100 RBI in his first two seasons in Anaheim before sitting out all of 2001 with injuries – he was traded to the New York Mets after that – Hamilton never came close to providing the expected return on investment.

His numbers nosedived from a .285 batting average, 43 homers and 128 RBI in his final season in Texas to .250, 21 and 79 after switching uniforms. Then he missed nearly half of 2014 with injuries, had career lows of 10 homers and 44 RBI and went hitless – while getting lustily booed – in 13 playoff at-bats as the Angels got swept in the division series.

Andy Hoyle, who attended the Rangers-Angels game with his teenage son Ben, references Vaughn in expressing his indignation over Hamilton paying such a minimal financial price for the relapse that prompted his exit from Anaheim.

"He gets away with murder," said Andy Hoyle, who hails from Upland, 30 miles northeast of Anaheim. "He breaks the rules, the Angels are out the money, and yet he walks away scot-free. There's no repercussions whatsoever. … Moreno didn't do anything wrong. Hamilton is the one. He robbed the bank, and now he's allowed to walk into Texas and say, 'Hey, guys, I'm back.' "

Like Hoyle, fellow Angels fan Darryl Glass of San Juan Capistrano defended Moreno's decision to ship away Hamilton.

Pointing to the kids parading around the field before the game as part of Little League day, Glass said Hamilton was a poor role model to youngsters because of his well-chronicled history of drug abuse.

"I totally agree with what the owner did," Glass said. "We don't need that kind of cancer around here."

Not surprisingly, Hamilton jerseys were almost impossible to find among the crowd of 35,053, although a young waitress named Jenna Willis sported one and said the Angels should have been more supportive of the troubled outfielder. The ballpark's apparel store was stripped of Hamilton merchandise this month.

The Rangers, on the other hand, will be happy to sell his jersey, even if he initially gets a mixed reaction after his comments that the Dallas area is a football town alienated some fans.

Rangers players have expressed their willingness to welcome back Hamilton, even if they have no idea what to expect from him. His former teammates fondly remember a player who at times dominated the game with stunning ease – like the game in May 2012 when he hit four home runs against the Baltimore Orioles – but they're also aware he'll be 34 next month and hasn't replicated the success he enjoyed in Texas, where he averaged 28 homers and 101 RBI in five All-Star seasons.

"This is a different team. We had Ian (Kinsler); we had (Mike) Napoli," said third baseman Adrian Beltre, with the Rangers since 2011. "You can't expect Josh to come in here and change the team. We need to play better as a team, and that's not going to happen just because of one player."

But given his resume and the low cost involved, it's hard for the Rangers not to be excited about Hamilton's return. At the least, they'll be far more enthusiastic about Hamilton's presence than the organization about to cut him loose.

GALLERY: Josh Hamilton, through the years

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