Josh Hamilton Traded to Texas

From Tyler Florence at Mets 4 Life...


Josh Hamilton, the former Tampa Bay Ray and Rule 5 Draft pick, was traded earlier today to the Texas Rangers. The Reds acquired RHP Edinson Volquez and LHP Danny Herrera. Last season with the Cincinnati Reds, Josh Hamilton hit .292 with 19 home runs and 47 RBIs in 90 games. Hamilton was once touted as one of the best prospects in the game when he was drafted by the Rays. He lost that title when he struggled with alcohol and drug addiction and was out of baseball for a few years, until last year when he was selected in the Rule 5 Draft.

Josh Hamilton should be a productive player in the middle of the Rangers lineup for as long as he is there. Look for him to hit more homers in Arlington. I'll make a prediction right now...

Josh Hamilton in 2008 will hit: 287 with 34 home runs and 96 RBI...

Any thoughts?

The Josh Hamilton Idea

Over at Mets Geek 7 Train to Maine (Screen Name) writes about the Mets needs and how he would fix them (Dan Haren and Josh Hamilton). There's an interesting trade idea in there that I don't think anyone has thought of yet. I think we all have had our fill of Haren trade ideas, so I will just throw the Hamilton one at you:

Mike Pelfrey and Bobby Parnell/Willie Collazo for Josh Hamilton

The second trade might have shocked you guys a bit. Josh Hamilton is on the market and its not secret. The Reds have a surplus of outfielders (Nick Hopper, Griffey Jr, Adam Dunn, Josh Hamilton, Freel) and in addition to those currently on the roster, the Reds have both Jay Bruce and Joey Votto as top outfield prospects. Joey Votto has moved to first base and has played at 1st for most of the 2007 campaign so he shouldn’t be a real factor. Jay Bruce on the other hand is a 3rd baseman but is currently displaced by the young Edwin Encarnacion. The Reds have been shopping around Ryan Freel and Josh Hamilton seeing what they could get. I cant see the Reds trading a valuable utility player like Freel. Those players are hard to come around nowadays. Josh Hamilton is the perfect option for the hole Mets will have in right. Hes moved on from his previous problems and has lived up to the talent that got him drafted number 1 overall. The guy hit 19 homers in just under 300 at bats and showed great patience with an OBP of .368. His OPS was over .900 which is great. He first needs to play a full season but he showed a lot of promise in Cincy. Hes a good defender and his home and away numbers don’t differ by much.