I’ve seen enough.
I hate it when the baseball season is practically over by tax day. And it’s over as far as the Texas Rangers are concerned in 2015, I hate to say.
After seeing Nelson Cruz light up his old team on Sunday, including the game-winning RBI in the ninth, it got some of us talking around some after-dinner drinks.
The topic: maybe Tim Cowlishaw was on to something with his column last week, suggesting that the Rangers talk with the Angels about a possible deal for Josh Hamilton.
Now, hold on. Bear with me for a second. Put your pitchforks and torches away. Baseball is the king when it comes to talking sports. We’re just talking here.
And what are we really talking about? One team’s problem for another. Or, better put – one team’s bad contract for another.
Here’s the deal – it is clear that the Angels truly regret signing Josh two years ago. I think owner Arte Moreno would rather have bought some ocean-front property in Arizona. They still are on the hook for $83 million to Josh for the next three seasons. So they would love to jettison him and his contract.
The Rangers’ biggest issue? Well, beside having pitchers who should be in the minors in their rotation and all over their bullpen, it’s not obvious. When looking at the future, the (elephant) contract that stands out is Shin-Soo Choo’s. He is owed $116 million through 2020 (when he is 38 years old). Anyone else out there concerned about the final three years of that contract at the amount owed? I am. Plus, I don’t think he’s been a good fit here since signing 16 months ago. And the Rangers need some power from their outfield.
OK, so you have your doubts about Hamilton supplying that power, I get that. There are no guarantees (by far). He wasn’t healthy last year, but Hamilton had 21 homers and 79 RBIs in 2013 for the Angels, something I would take on the Rangers right now (and he would be playing at hitters-friendly Globe Life Park). I know, I know – not for $25 million.
I never said this was a perfect deal.
Would Josh be welcomed back? I think the fans would warm up to him after a rough patch to start things off, especially if he came in and said the right things and played hard. A few home runs wouldn’t hurt either.
Plus, Jon Daniels needs to roll the dice and make a bold move. This thing is off the rails here in Arlington. Whether it is the curse of Nolan or simply bad luck, this team cannot simply stand still and hope that Darvish, Holland, Martin, Profar and co. come back after injury and rescue this team. Nor can we wait on Joey Gallo. And that deal Daniels gave Elvis Andrus? Well, we should probably hold that for another column.
What if I were to offer you Choo for Hamilton, with the Angels picking up $5 million of Josh’s salary per year? How about straight-up, contract for contract? Josh’s deal is up in three seasons; Choo’s in six. There’s a part of every Rangers fan who doesn’t want to let the Angels off the hook. Would you do it? Would the Angels do it?
Who knows? But it’s fun to talk about. Besides, what the heck are we going to do for the next five months? Talking some sports sounds like a good option. While watching a lot of bad baseball.
