Texas Rangers: Josh Hamilton to Have Surgery on Left Knee

By Andrew Schmid |

Oct 14, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Texas Rangers left fielder Josh Hamilton reacts from the dugout against the Toronto Blue Jays in game five of the ALDS at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports

After missing all of last season with a knee injury, Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers will have surgery on that same knee and miss even more time.

According to Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram, Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers has suffered yet another setback. Hamilton has experienced another injury to his surgically-repaired left knee and will undergo arthroscopic surgery later today in Houston.

The latest development in Hamilton’s knee is sure to be quite the disappointment. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection this past Wednesday in hopes of lessening the pain the outfielder experienced the prior day. After two days of rest, the pain has not yet abated.

For the Texas Rangers, this continues what has been a challenging saga in recent years. Josh Hamilton missed all of last season due to issues with this same knee, with the final operation in May being his third in nine months. At the time, the team had hoped that the lefty would be able to return to action in 2017, but things now look to be a little different. They released him in late August and signed him to a minor-league deal this January.

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Hamilton was once a stud for the team, and he competed as one of the best players in baseball from 2008 to 2012. The lefty even took home the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 2010. That season saw him bat .359, slug 32 home runs, and post solid defense. FanGraphs valued his work at 8.4 wins above replacement.

Hamilton departed Texas for the Los Angeles Angels in 2013 with a five-year, $123 million contract. The signing did not pan out so well for the team, as the aging slugger gave a league-average performance that year and struggled with injuries the following.

His 2015 season, however, trumped the prior two in terms of drama. Hamilton underwent shoulder surgery in February and relapsed into drug addiction during the recovery process. This said, he did not receive punishment from MLB since he voluntarily reported the incident, and an outside arbitrator ruled that such an act did not violate his treatment program.

Even if MLB could not punish Josh Hamilton, the owner of the Los Angeles Angels, Arte Moreno, made the situation a bit awkward by making comments about not wanting Hamilton to return to the team and removing his apparel from the team store. The Angels would eventually trade Hamilton back to the Texas Rangers in a complicated trade

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Since then, he has only appeared in 50 games for the Texan club, and his production has been minimal in that time. As things currently stand, it seems unlikely that the soon-to-be 36-year-old will ever return to top form, but perhaps he could still have some juice left in the tank. Only time will tell.

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