Josh Hamilton Rumors: Red Sox, Dodgers Out of Running?

Major league teams are convinced the blockbuster deal between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox put both teams out of the running for Texas Rangers outfielder and free agent-to-be Josh Hamilton, reports Jayson Stark of ESPN:

Other clubs are convinced that deal effectively removed the Dodgers as major players in this winter's free-agent market. So Hamilton can scratch L.A. off his list of potential destinations. And the Red Sox, even with the gazillions of dollars in payroll space they've freed up, figure to be more cautious about their next nine-figure free agent than you might expect.

Stark also speculates that the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels and New York Mets are other big-market teams that won’t be large players for Hamilton. Instead, one American League executive said he wouldn’t be surprised to see "a mid-market team come out of the woodwork and step up and pay" Hamilton.

So far this season, Hamilton has hit at a clip of .290/.356/.582 with twenty-four doubles and thirty-seven home runs. The 31-year-old owns a career line of .305/.364/.549 over six seasons in the majors.

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Where do you think Hamilton will sign this offseason?

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