Spring training hasn't even officially begun for the Rangers and the first ominous reports about Josh Hamilton's health already have emerged.
The outfielder reported to camp in Surprise, Ariz., a week early and went through a series of workouts Tuesday, but he acknowledged afterward that he is far from 100 percent healthy.
Coming off a pair of knee surgeries last fall, Hamilton told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he still has pain in his left knee now that anti-inflammatory medicine administered in January has worn off.
MORE: Every MLB team's best catcher ever
“We’ll hit it with treatment and see if it responds to being active every day. Hopefully it does,” Hamilton said. “I’m not really worrying about it. I ran some bases today. It seems like the more I do on it, the better it feels.
“I think Doc said it was inflammation of the capsule. I’m wondering why, 2 1/2 weeks later, it started happening again. Is this going to be an ongoing thing? Is this not going to be an ongoing thing? I have those questions, too.”
Not a great sign for a guy who has played in only 139 games over the last two seasons combined and will turn 35 in May, but it's hardly a surprise given Hamilton's injury history. The Star-Telegram noted that the two procedures Hamilton had about a month apart last year brought his tally to 15 surgeries during his career.
Nonetheless, Hamilton is excited to be at spring training at all after sitting out last year following a relapse of the drug and alcohol issues that have dogged him for years. That helped prompt the Angels to send him back to Texas in late April, allowing Hamilton to return to something of a comfort zone. The best years of his career came in Texas, most notably his MVP season six years ago, and if he has anything left in the tank, the Rangers figure to be able to extract it.
So Hamilton is accentuating the positive as he ramps up for 2016, even if he hardly feels like the 2010 version of himself.
“I want to use this spring to the best of my ability to get ready for when it counts,” Hamilton said. “I’m trying to listen to them and tell them how I feel, and see what they’ve got going on and just not push it because it doesn’t count. But I’ve never had that mentality. It’s always been just go, go go. So, it’s a new challenge for me.”
