Josh Hamilton joins Angels on 5-year deal

I don’t believe Josh Hamilton is worth $25 million per season.

I do believe the Angels have become the odds-on favorite to win the American League West next season. But just barely, and that might well change between now and Opening Day.

Instead, the Angels signed the best/most expensive free agent on the market for the second straight season. There’s no point in really analyzing the deal to death. You know what everyone will say about any 30-something signed to a big contract: It should help the team at first, and then it will hamper the team later. There’s no need to stretch that into 1,000 words. The Angels really, really don’t care about 2017 right now. And if you’re an Angels fan, why should you? Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking, well-compensated corpse, that’s what I always say. For 2013, at least, the Angels’ offense looks scary.

… for the following spots …

Edit: The deal is worth $125 million over five years.

Hamilton hit .305/.363/.549 over five seasons with the Rangers, and the 31-year-old hit a career-high 43 home runs last season, including four in one game. On May 11, remember, Hamilton was hitting .407/.463/.873. Right around that point, pitchers stopped throwing him strikes because it turns out that’s what they were supposed to do in the first place, but it was a good run while it lasted.