Who says no? Trading Josh Hamilton

When it comes to the idea of trading Josh Hamilton, most Angels fans can’t say “yes” fast enough. Some of them might even throw in their firstborn just to be rid of him. Or at least that is what they claim. Because the idea of actually trading Josh Hamilton seems so far-fetched, it is an easy claim to make. But what would you say if an actual offer were to materialize?

As far as we know, no actual offer has materialized. The Angels have admitted to calling around and shopping Hamilton during the offseason and presumably have done so in recent weeks. To our knowledge there is no offer that came out of that shopping. Heck, a conversation longer than 30 seconds may not have even come out of it.

Well, if we can’t find a real trade offer, we can at least consider a fake trade offer, right? Normally I wouldn’t pay much heed to such notions, but this one comes straight from the Dallas Fort Worth area via a popular local radio personality. As such it caught my attention:

https://twitter.com/BenRogers/status/588801231864406017

The thing that stunned me the most about it is that Rangers fans actually want Josh Hamilton back. This isn’t just a talking head trying to stir the pot either, Rangers fans actually favor re-acquiring Hamilton (check the poll in this piece). With that in mind, let’s break down this offer and figure out who says no.

The first thing to reconcile in this deal is the money involved. Hamilton is owed $83 million over the next three years. Choo is owed $54 million over that same span plus another $62 million for the three years after that. The $30 million referred to in the suggested trade is meant to offset the discrepancy in the first three years. Basically, the Angels would pay Hamilton his full $83 million and then pay $62 million for three years after that for the privilege of not having him on the team anymore.

Yeah, I think we already know who is going to say no. For the Angels to actually consider the deal, they’d actually have to think that Choo still held value as a player. Choo was actually worse than Hamilton last season and has health concerns of his own. Oh, and he’s off to a terrible start this season as well. There’s enough talent there to roll the dice on him, but for an additional $62 million? Methinks not.

However, there is at least a seed of a good idea here. Arte Moreno wants to escape some of the financial obligation to Hamilton, not extend it. He wants Josh gone, but he doesn’t want him gone enough to pay a premium for it. He’d rather go to court to try and get a discount.

But what if we start eating away at that $30 million? Where the Angels really need saving is in the short-term due to their luxury tax situation. If the Rangers were willing to take on that $30 million difference in salary the first three years, the flexibility it would give the Angels in the short-term might make it worthwhile for Moreno to have to pay a surplus $30+ million three years from now.

The fact that Choo might not be totally washed up would help too. Moreno gets to save some face by acquiring a recent All-Star in exchange for Hamilton. Maybe Choo can then come to Anaheim, move to DH where his negative defensive value will be washed away and be an Iannetta-like OBP contributor. His power might be sapped and his ability to hit for average might be waning, but the dude can still work a walk. With what the Angels are getting out of the DH spot now, that would be a welcome addition.

But is it a $30+ million welcome addition? No, probably not. There’s a lot of ifs in the above scenario, the biggest of which includes Choo not having a fork sticking out of his back. Moreno is probably better off just writing Hamilton off as a lost cause, hoping he accepts a buyout that saves a fraction of a percent of his contract and being rid of the PR nightmare that he has become. They wouldn’t be getting any talent to replace him, but that’s a better scenario than throwing good money after bad money by acquiring Choo who could become a six-year long reminder of the mistake that Hamilton was and the desperate measures the team would take to be erase that mistake.