Josh Hamilton Released By Rangers, Who Leave Door Open For Return

Sports Josh Butler
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According to a number of reports, the Texas Rangers have requested waivers on mercurial outfielder Josh Hamilton. The former slugger has had an injury plagued season, which began on the disabled list.

Upon returning in late April, Hamilton was able to play in one rehab game before being forced to take more time away from the game to mend his injuries. After undergoing a June operation to to repair cartilage damage and a tear to his ACL, his season was officially declared over.

Jon Daniels, the Texas Rangers’ general manager and president of baseball operations, says that the team plans to monitor Hamilton’s rehabilitation process. Once he is medically cleared to play baseball again this coming winter, the team will reexamine the situation then to determine if Hamilton is ready to return.

However, a the comeback of 35 year old baseball player with this amount of wear and tear on their body is far from certain and Rangers fans are already coming to grips with the fact that he may have played in his final game.

Regardless of the outcome, Hamilton will continue to be paid like a superstar. He receives $24 million of the $26 million he is owed next season from the Angels, as the Rangers are only on the hook for a small fraction of his 2017 earnings.

The Rangers are unaffected by these recent developments and they have successfully positioned themselves for a World Series run. Hamilton was already expected to be lost for the season and while the team is clearly unhappy about the current situation, the pennant race still rages on. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery and a return to the lineup in 2017 for Hamilton.