Report: Angels and Josh Hamilton in talks to settle dispute
The Los Angeles Angels and Josh Hamilton may be in the initial stages of settling their ongoing dispute, according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.
In a series of interesting tweets sent out Saturday morning, Rosenthal reports that the two sides are in talks aimed directly at resolving their dispute stemming from Hamilton’s recent admitted relapse involving drugs and alcohol, and there are several scenarios being explored that would allow both the Angels and Hamilton to move on.
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Among the options would be a trade, which would obviously have to include the Angels picking up a good chunk of the $83 million owed to Hamilton over the next three seasons.
Another option would be a buyout. Though, according to Rosenthal, that might be difficult to swing if the MLBPA has a say in matters.
Rosenthal notes that former major-league pitchers Sidney Ponson and Denny Neagle are examples of players who agreed to settlements for less than full values of their deals. In both cases, the players were viewed by their clubs as being in violation of a personal-conduct clause. That’s something Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan noted could be possible last week, while referring back to a 2013 article he wrote explaining the rare circumstances that allow MLB to get out from under guaranteed contracts.
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It’s worth noting that a resolution between the Angels and Hamilton isn’t considered all that close at this point, so it’s still way too early to tell which direction this case will end up going. However, just the fact that these discussions are apparently on-going indicates this might not be the long, drawn out affair many anticipated once Angels owner Arte Moreno made it pretty clear Hamilton wouldn’t be welcomed back.
For Hamilton’s sake, that might be the best news possible, since many believe getting back around the game and a supportive team environment could be exactly what he needs. Despite the unwavering support of his Angels teammates, that environment isn’t coming with the Angels. But it most likely would from the next team willing to give him a chance.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
