Say hey, baseball: Josh Hamilton’s drug suspension is coming

Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day, and trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end.

Josh Hamilton is going to be suspended for his alcohol and cocaine relapses, but that’s about all that is known of the situation at this point. A four-person panel failed to come up with an adequate suspension recommendation for Hamilton, so now his case will go before an arbitrator. New MLB commissioner Rob Manfred still has final say over the suspension, though, so even when the arbitrator comes to a decision, this won’t necessarily be over.

The problem is that, from a rules standpoint, Hamilton is a four-time offender who is in line to miss the entire 2015 season -- he was on the 40-man roster of the then-Devil Rays when he was previously suspended in 2004, so even though he was in the minors at the time, he was still treated as an MLB player. Another year-long suspension -- the punishment for a fourth offense -- would cost Hamilton his $23 million salary for the season.

Why is that a problem? MLB isn’t sure if they want to actually treat Hamilton like a four-time offender. This isn’t a PED case, or a minor-league player who took a bong hit or 10 a little too close to a random drug test. Hamilton has struggled for over a decade with addiction, and had been seemingly winning that struggle since his return to baseball with the Reds in 2007. He’s a person who needs help more than he is a player who deserves punishment, and Baseball is just trying to figure out how best they can hurt him on the field with the rules they themselves constructed with the players while helping him off of it. It’s a delicate situation, and they want to get it right, especially since the Players Association feels a suspension is merited but that it best come with Josh Hamilton, the person in mind, too.

It will take some time to sort out, and it’s not just Hamilton waiting to find out. The Angels, too, need to know what’s up with their outfielder and his salary so they can figure out how they’re going to replace him, and for how long. That, of course, is secondary to Hamilton’s well-being, but it’s all part of what has turned into a lengthy process.