Josh Hamilton, who survived an addiction to cocaine and alcohol to become a five-time All-Star, has suffered some type of relapse, a person with knowledge of the situation has confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.
The Angels outfielder met with Major League Baseball officials in New York on Wednesday. Since then, there have been negotiations about how the situation will be handled moving forward.
Hamilton is known to have failed at least six drug tests as a minor leaguer more than a decade ago. His addictions led to a three-year suspension from baseball, from 2003 to 2005.
He was reinstated in 2006, under terms that are largely unknown. The only condition that is known is that he has been subject to three drug tests a week ever since.
The unknown terms may be complicating matters now. Rob Manfred, baseball’s new commissioner, would make the call on any penalty.
Players failing to comply with a treatment program are subject to suspensions that range from 15 to 25 games for an initial violation, 25 to 50 games for a second violation, 50 to 75 games for a third violation, at least one year for a fourth violation and commissioner’s discretion for any other violation.
Hamilton, 33, had not been with the Angels at their Tempe, Ariz., spring training facility. He had been in Houston, rehabilitating a right shoulder that was surgically repaired on Feb. 4.
He was expected to be sidelined until at least May after the shoulder surgery. With any suspension tacked on to his stay on the disabled list, he would miss a substantial part of the season, if he returned at all.
Hamilton has five years and $125 million left on his contract. He is scheduled to make $25 million this season.
The left-handed-hitting Matt Joyce, a 2011 All-Star who was acquired from Tampa Bay over the winter, and right-handed-hitting Collin Cowgill are expected to share left field for the Angels in Hamilton’s absence. It’s not clear who will take his spot in the middle of the batting order.
Hamilton was the first overall pick of the 1999 draft by Tampa Bay, but he has acknowledged using drugs and drinking heavily in 2001.
After his 2006 reinstatement, he developed into a feared slugger who hit .305 and averaged 28 homers and 101 runs batted in a season for the Texas Rangers from 2008 to 2012.
Hamilton won the 2010 American League most valuable player award and led the Rangers to the World Series in 2010 and 2011, but he has been a shadow of that player in Anaheim.
Since signing a five-year, $125-million deal with the Angels before the 2013 season, Hamilton has hit .255 with 31 homers, 123 RBIs and 266 strikeouts over two years marked by injury and underachievement.
Hamilton missed most of September because of a shoulder injury and went hitless in 13 at-bats—often looking overmatched—in an AL division series sweep at the hands of the Kansas City Royals.
This is Hamilton’s third known relapse as a major leaguer. His first two, in 2009 and 2012 while he played for the Rangers, involved alcohol.
The person with knowledge of the situation, who spoke anonymously because of the sensitive nature of the topic, did not provide details as to the nature of Hamilton’s relapse.
For most of the last eight seasons, Hamilton has also traveled with an “accountability partner” whose primary job was to help Hamilton resist the temptations that could derail his career and embarrass his employers.
Hamilton downsized the role of his accountability partner in 2014, flying a friend from his church in Texas to road games and hiring another family friend to accompany him to games at Texas and Houston.
Hamilton makes his off-season home in the Dallas area. His wife, Katie, and four daughters lived with him in Orange County during the season. It is not known whether Hamilton had lined up accountability partners for this year.
In Tempe, where the Angels are training, Hamilton’s coaches and teammates have offered support while being careful to note that they don’t know exactly what is going on. Mike Trout talked about Hamilton as a good teammate. C.J. Wilson talked about the pains of addiction, noting he has family members who have been locked in what he called “a lifelong struggle.”
Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said Friday that the club “kind of knows” what the MLB disciplinary process is, “but don’t know exactly where it is.”
Hamilton wasn’t issued a locker at spring training.
Asked if he hoped the situation would be resolved soon, Scioscia said, “We’ve got a lot of things on our plate we’ve got to take care of. That’s going to happen in its own time and we can’t let it affect us.”
Hamilton chronicled his addiction and recovery in a 2010 autobiography entitled “Beyond Belief.”
“It boils down to self-responsibility, accountability and choices,” he said in a 2013 interview with The Times.
“People worry about me going to big cities, having money, but if you want to do something stupid, you can do it. But God has shown me how I get to the spot where I make a decision I shouldn’t make.”
DiGiovanna reported from Los Angeles; Staff writer Gary Klein contributed from Tempe, Ariz.
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