ChiefsPlanet - Other Sports Josh Hamilton back to the Rangers

What tha?

ANAHEIM, Calif. - On the surface it seems beyond surreal.

One team agrees to “trade” a player owed more than $80 million. To a hated division rival. With no player in return. For pennies on the dollar.

The player all but begs to back to a place where he was booed on his way out of town and when he returned as an opponent. He is so willing to do it he’s willing to sacrifice some of the long-term contract for which he worked so hard. The Players Association, which fights tooth and nail to protect players’ rights and their contracts, agrees to this.

And finally, above all that, Major League Baseball is on board, too.

Welcome to the world beyond the looking glass.

As bizarre as it all sounds, it is the state of the deal between the Los Angeles Angels and Rangers that is expected to return Josh Hamilton to Texas. The deal, being finalized in five-way talks between the two clubs, Hamilton’s representative, Major League Baseball and the Players Association, is expected to be finalized by Monday.

The Rangers will take on Hamilton for up to three years at the cost of no more than $6 million. Total. Hamilton will sacrifice about $6 million of his contract. The Angels will write a big fat check for about $68 million. In return for that, they will get … absolutely nothing.

And you know what?

Think about it long enough and it all starts to make sense for everybody involved.

No, really.

Let’s walk through everybody’s motivation:

The Rangers

It makes all the sense in the world for them. The financial risk is minimal. There is no cost in terms of talent. Left field has been among the least productive areas on one of the least productive teams in the league.

The Rangers are more prepared than any team in baseball to deal with the potential extra attention and burden created by Hamilton’s presence. Their management staff has done it before. A group of core players have done it, too. And while the manager is new, Jeff Banister remains close with Clint Hurdle, who was Hamilton’s hitting coach in 2010 when he won the MVP. Banister can be the larger-than-life figure that Hurdle was in the clubhouse.

The Rangers have done similar due diligence on Hamilton to when they traded for him following the 2007 season. They have had conversations about him regarding accountability. The Rangers, according to a source, will have a plan for accountability in place.

And if none of it works out, the Rangers can walk away with no real financial exposure on their part.

Josh Hamilton

Hamilton may be giving up about $6 million in salary over the remainder of his contract, but that is merely the amount equal to California state income tax over the course of the contract. It does not devalue his deal.

More importantly, for Hamilton, it appears he believes that Texas is home. His actions since leaving – reacting poorly to being booed by fans in Arlington – speak more to a player who cared about fan perception more than he ever admitted.

His desire to return to Texas – and let’s be clear, with a full no-trade clause he holds most of the cards in determining his next place of employment – signals a player who understands that he had a productive environment and a strong support system for dealing with his daily addiction battle.

The Players Association

You can argue that Hamilton’s contract isn’t being “devalued” because $6 million less in Texas equals more money elsewhere, but the Rangers have argued that with free agents for years and gotten nowhere.

Where this does make sense for the Players Association is that it speaks to a union looking out for the overall welfare of one its members. The dollars be damned, the MLBPA seems to understand that, all things considered, Arlington would be a healthier environment for him.

And the addition of an opt-out clause in Hamilton’s contract qualifies as a legitimate additional benefit. Hamilton probably won’t use the clause, but it does potentially give him some long-term leverage.

Major League Baseball

The sniping at Hamilton by team president John Carpino and the threats of legal action by Arte Moreno could put new commissioner Rob Manfred in a difficult situation with the MLBPA a year ahead of negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement.

Allowing this transfer of a player to go through allows Manfred to stop Moreno’s squawking before it creates a real long-term issue. It also allows him to serve a particular owner’s demand to be rid of a player.

The Angels

Moreno has gotten beaten up over the Hamilton situation publicly, but more for his stance on Hamilton the person than on the player.

From a baseball perspective, the Angels will recoup about $12-15 million between what the Rangers will pick up and what Hamilton will give up. Writing a check for $65-68 million is a big check, but it remains consistent with the Angels’ way of doing business.

They are willing to commit premium dollars to free agents and then willing to do what is necessary in order to move those contracts when they are viewed as no longer useful to the team. In that regard, Moreno has often been ahead of the curve on understanding the free agent market. He understands the money is a sunk cost the minute the contract is signed. Anything recouped after that is found money.

And while the Angels may be eating more than 80 percent of the contract’s remaining value, the added financial resources may allow them more flexibility to address one of their own pressing needs this summer.

Not bad work considering the negotiating position in which Moreno put himself when he all but demanded he be rid of Hamilton. He limited his negotiating leverage at that moment.

But, seeing as he wanted Hamilton gone, he will get his wish and a chunk of change back, too.

In that way, strange as it sounds, everybody involved gets what they need out of this bizarre deal.

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