A four-person disciplinary panel is split on a plan for troubled Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton, and an arbitrator has been called in to end the impasse.
The panel, which consists of two attorneys and two physicians has yet to decide on a course of action for Hamilton, who has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and met with MLB officials last month following a relapse, according to the Los Angeles Times. The arbitrator will join the panel to break the deadlock, a source told the Times. Major League Baseball and the players union each appointed an attorney and a physician to the panel, the Times reported.
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Hamilton has failed at least six drug tests and was suspended from baseball from 2004 to 2006 while with the then-Devil Rays. He spent 2007 with the Reds and had a career resurgence with the Texas Rangers before signing a five-year, $125-million deal with the Angels on Dec. 15, 2012.
The 2010 American League MVP was due $25 million this year, but that salary may not be paid out if he is suspended without pay as a fourth-time offender under baseball's drug policy. If the panel sends Hamilton to rehab, he would be owed his full salary for 30 days and then half his salary for the next 30 days. That would total $6.2 million.
Hamilton was a five-time All-Star with the Rangers and helped lead them to consecutive World Series berths in 2010 and 2011. He has struggled with the Angels, batting .255 with 31 home runs and 123 RBIs in two seasons.