Major League Baseball

Hamilton's agent believed Angels were protected by JDA

Published Apr. 16, 2015 6:00 p.m. ET

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Ken Rosenthal

The radio interview took place shortly after outfielder Josh Hamilton signed his five-year, $125 million free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2012.

In the interview, SiriusXM host Jim Bowden asked Hamilton's agent, Michael Moye, if the Angels were the only team not to insist on a clause to help protect them against addiction or drug use.

At the time, it was thought that Hamilton's deal did not include such language; Angels owner Arte Moreno had told reporters as much. But such language does exist, as FOX Sports reported Tuesday, and Moye's answer in the interview revealed how differently clubs and players view the provisions.

The players union issued a statement last Friday saying that the Joint Drug Agreement and Collective Bargaining Agreement supersede all other player contract terms.

Moye, who has declined comment since Hamilton revealed his relapse to Major League Baseball in February, took the same position in his earlier interview.

Hamilton's relapse involved alcohol and cocaine, according to CBSSports.com and the New York Daily News. An arbitrator found that the player did not violate his program, preventing commissioner Rob Manfred from suspending him.

"I can't really get into specifics of any of the negotiations that take place for our clients — that's one of those specifics," Moye said in 2012. "But I can tell you that every club was protected to the extent that Josh is part of the joint Major League Baseball drug program. He's under their jurisdiction.

"If Josh violates the terms of that program — and he has certain terms that he has to abide by, one of which is well-documented, he gets tested three times a week — then he can be disciplined by Major League Baseball. Those protections are in place. ... Teams were protected from the joint Major League Baseball drug program."

Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio reported Wednesday that Moye told teams involved in the free-agent bidding that Hamilton would allow protective language if he received the right deal. But Moye, with his comments, indicated no such language was necessary.

As it turned out, Hamilton's contract includes three separate provisions that would allow the Angels to terminate or convert the deal to non-guaranteed if he was not in "first-class physical condition" or mentally or physically incapacitated due to drug and/or alcohol abuse, major-league sources told FOX Sports.

Similar language covering a variety of activities exists in almost all player contracts, though it varies from club to club, sources said. The relevance of those clauses likely will be the source of any future dispute between the Angels and Hamilton.

Moreno already is obligated to pay Hamilton $23 million this season; all player contracts became guaranteed on Opening Day, and that stipulation applied to Hamilton even though he is on the disabled list recovering from surgery on his right shoulder.

The union almost certainly would file a grievance if Moreno tried to escape Hamilton's $30 million salaries for 2016 and '17. Barring a settlement, an arbitrator would decide in favor of one side of the other.

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