LOS ANGELES — Josh Hamilton is heading to the Los Angeles Angels, lured with a $125 million, five-year contract that steps up the migration of high-profile stars to Southern California.
LOS ANGELES — Josh Hamilton is heading to the Los Angeles Angels, lured with a $125 million, five-year contract that steps up the migration of high-profile stars to Southern California.
The Angels persuaded the free-agent outfielder to leave the Texas Rangers with their third big-money offseason signing in as many years. Hamilton heads to Anaheim after first baseman Albert Pujols came West for $240 million last December along with pitcher C.J. Wilson — Hamilton’s Texas teammate — for $77.5 million.
Still, the Angels failed to make the playoffs for the third straight year.
They had bulked up their pitching staff earlier in the offseason with the additions of pitchers Joe Blanton and Tommy Hanson, along with relievers Sean Burnett and Ryan Madson.
General manager Jerry Dipoto had said Wednesday that he didn’t think a major move was “imminent or required.”
But owner Arte Moreno pulled off another coup by getting Hamilton. The 2010 AL MVP, Pujols and AL Rookie of the Year Mike Trout combined for 103 home runs and 316 RBIs last season.
“It’s a great day to be an Angel/Angel fan!” Wilson said on his Twitter account.
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Hamilton had reached a deal with the AL West rival Angels. Two people familiar with the talks disclosed the amount and length of the contract, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not yet final.
Hamilton’s $25 million average salary matches Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard for the second-highest in baseball, trailing only Alex Rodriguez’s $27.5 million average with the New York Yankees.
Since the contract wasn’t final, the Angels didn’t comment publicly. The team said in a statement, “We continue to look for ways to improve our team. As soon as we have something formal to announce, we will do so.”
Moreno and manager Mike Scioscia didn’t immediately respond to phone messages.
The Angels allowed free agent outfielder Torii Hunter to sign with Detroit, and he reacted to his former team’s latest move on his Twitter account.
“I was told money was tight but I guess the Arte had money hidden under a Mattress. Business is business but don’t lie,” Hunter wrote.
He followed up with the comment, “Great signing for the Angels. One of the best players in baseball.”
Texas had hoped to re-sign Hamilton, who led the Rangers to consecutive World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011. They made a $13.3 million qualifying offer at the Nov. 2 deadline, ensuring the team draft-pick compensation if Hamilton signed elsewhere. The Rangers will receive an extra selection immediately following the first round of June’s amateur draft. The deal cost the Angels a first-round selection in the draft.
Speaking Thursday after a Rangers’ holiday luncheon, Daniels said he had just been informed of the decision by Hamilton’s agent, Michael Moye.
Daniels said he was disappointed “to some degree,” especially since the Rangers never got a chance to match any offer during the process, as they had expected. Or at least get contacted before Hamilton agreed with another team.
“I never expected that he was going to tell us to the dollar what they had, and a chance to offer it. Our full expectation, the phone call was going to be before he signed, and certainly not after,” Daniels said. “Everybody’s got to make their own calls.
“He’s a tremendous talent and I think that they’ve shown they’re going to be in on a lot of the best players out there. No sugarcoating it, we wanted the player back. And he signed with the Angels. They’re better,” Daniels said.
The agreement came days after the Los Angeles Dodgers added pitchers Zack Greinke and Ryu Hyun-jin, boosting their payroll over $200 million. Greinke, another offseason target, said he chose the Dodgers over the Rangers.
Hamilton’s addition to the Angels outfield means Mark Trumbo could be moved to third base or traded. Peter Bourjos and Vernon Wells also are among the outfielders competing for time unless a trade is made.
Scioscia will have an interesting decision to make on where in the batting order to slot in Pujols, Trout and Hamilton, a five-time All-Star. He has a .260 career average at Angel Stadium with five home runs and 19 RBIs in 150 at-bats.
Daniels met with Moye last week at the winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn., and had talked about the parameters of a new contract along with numbers. While Daniels wouldn’t get into any specifics, he said his understanding is the deal with the Angels “is certainly more guaranteed money.”
The move keeps Hamilton in the same division with plenty of opportunities to play against his team — the first one coming fast next season. After the Rangers open with three games at new division foe Houston, they play their first home series April 5-7 against the Angels.
The 31-year-old slugger was considered a risk by some teams because of his history of alcohol and substance abuse, which derailed his career before his surge with the Rangers over the past five seasons.
“Josh has done a lot for the organization, the organization has done a lot for Josh, a lot of things that aren’t public and things of that nature,” Daniels said. “I’m a little disappointed how it was handled, but he had a decision to make and he made it.”
Hamilton had a career-high 43 home runs with 128 RBIs in 148 games last season, when the Rangers struggled down the stretch and lost the division to Oakland on the final day of the regular season.
Texas then lost in the winner-take-all wild-card game against Baltimore, and Hamilton was lustily booed by Rangers fans while going 0-for-4 — twice striking out on three pitches, including an inning-ending out in the eighth with a runner in scoring position when it was still a 3-1 game.
That came two days after Hamilton dropped a routine popup in the regular-season finale, a two-out tiebreaking miscue that allowed the A’s to score two runs and go ahead to stay. He missed five games on a September trip because of a cornea problem he said was caused by too much caffeine and energy drinks — and had one homer with 18 strikeouts in the final 10 regular-season games after returning.
Hamilton has hit .304 with 161 homers in his six major league seasons, the first with Cincinnati. In May against Baltimore, he became only the 16th major league with a four-homer game as part of a 5-for-5 night that included a double.
“Josh had indicated recently … told us that he felt it might be time to move on, but that we were still talking,” said Daniels, who wouldn’t elaborate on the reasons. “We had additional conversations this week that I thought had moved it along in a positive direction, but apparently not.”
Sources: Dempster agrees to $26.5M deal
BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox have agreed to terms with right-hander Ryan Dempster on a two-year contract worth $26.5 million, two people familiar with the negotiations said Thursday.
Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington would not comment on Dempster at a news conference to announce the signing of outfielder Shane Victorino. “We’re engaged with a pitcher. That’s all I can say at this point,” Cherington said, without mentioning Dempster by name.
But a few hours later the sides completed the framework of a deal, the two people familiar with the talks said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the agreement was pending a physical.
Dempster would help a rotation led by Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, promising young pitchers coming off subpar seasons. At the other end of the staff are Franklin Morales and Felix Doubront; pitchers the Red Sox hope can develop into dependable starters. John Lackey returns after missing last season due to elbow ligament-replacement surgery.
Dempster, 12-8 with a 3.38 ERA this year, gives the Red Sox a reliable pitcher who has thrown more than 200 innings for four of the past five seasons. He was 5-5 with a 2.25 ERA with the Chicago Cubs this year before being traded to Texas. He was 7-3 with a 5.03 ERA for the Rangers.
Source: Ichiro, Yankees close in on deal
NEW YORK — Ichiro Suzuki and the New York Yankees are closing in on a contract that would guarantee the outfielder between $12 million and $13 million.
A person familiar with the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks were ongoing, said Thursday the agreement likely would be for a two-year deal.
Acquired from the Seattle Mariners on July 23, the 39-year-old Suzuki revived his career in New York.
Suzuki batted .261 with four homers, 28 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 95 games with the Mariners, then hit .322 with five homers, 27 RBIs and 14 steals in 67 games for the Yankees to help them win the AL East.
A 10-time All-Star, Suzuki has 2,606 hits in 12 major league seasons.
Torres, Giants agree on one-year contract
SAN FRANCISCO — Andres Torres is returning to the San Francisco Giants, who gave the outfielder his first chance as a regular two years ago.
Torres agreed to a $2 million, one-year contract Thursday with the reigning World Series champions. He must pass a physical to finalize the deal, Giants vice president of baseball operations Bobby Evans said.
The 34-year-old Torres spent last season with the New York Mets following three years with the Giants. He hit .230 this year with three home runs, 35 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 132 games.