The Josh Hamilton saga is growing more awkward by the minute.
Hamilton, who is rehabbing from shoulder surgery and was recently found by an arbitrator to have not violated baseball’s drug policy despite admitting that he had an alcohol and cocaine relapse this past offseason, is being marginalized by his own team, as he has not yet been issued a locker and his merchandise has been pulled from the team’s stores.
“It doesn’t seem like any bridges are being built — it seems like a fairly contentious situation,” pitcher C.J. Wilson told the Los Angeles Times of the Angels, who publicly expressed disappointment over the arbitrator’s decision to not to punish Hamilton.
“It’s definitely at a level right now. No one is talking to us about it. We’re supposed to stay out of the loop. But it’s fairly obvious what their intentions are.”
According to the report, the players believe owner Arte Moreno is the driving force behind ostracizing Hamilton, and also feel that Hamilton may not play for the Angels again. On Friday, Moreno was asked if Hamilton would play another game for the Angels, and he responded, “I will not say that.”
Moreno added that the team included language in Hamilton’s contract to guard against a possible relapse from the outfielder, and that he might “challenge Hamilton’s ability to collect his full salary.”
However, the players’ union refuted Moreno’s comments, saying that “such language had not been improved” and it would “not supersede the provisions of the joint drug agreement and/or the basic agreement.”
Wilson said that teams will sometimes go to “extreme lengths” to enforce the contract language.
“When the Angels first signed me they hired a private detective to follow me around because they were made that I was riding motorcycles,” Wilson said.
General manager Jerry DiPoto denied the accusation, saying, “That is 100% not true.”