Hamilton: “If They Sign Me Now, It'd Probably Cost Less”

The Texas Rangers and Josh Hamilton came to what’s said to be a mutual decision to suspend contract talks following his relapse last month, but according to the 31-year-old slugger, the Rangers would be better off re-signing him sooner rather than later.

Hamilton’s reasoning here is simple: If Texas waits until he goes to free agency, his price tag will most likely go up.

“Free agency is free agency,” Hamilton told ESPN’s Jim Bowden on SiriusXM radio, per HardballTalk.com. “If they sign me now, it’d probably cost less. If they sign me there (free agency), it’d cost more. So we’ll see.

“Obviously, I told the Rangers that they get first shot, and I mean that. I have loyalty to the Rangers. They’ve been good to me and my family, and it’s been a good relationship.”

This is somewhat friendlier wording than that which Hamilton used around a month ago, when he said that though appreciated the Rangers--the team with which he’s won an American League MVP award and gone to two consecutive World Series--he didn’t feel that he owed them anything when it comes to free agency; in part because he’s played such a large role in the team’s recent success.