Hamilton Agrees to $125M, 5-Year Deal With Angels Josh Hamilton left the Texas Rangers on Thursday and agreed to a $125 million, five-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said the slugging free-agent outfielder had reached the deal with the AL West rival Angels. Two people familiar with the talks disclosed the amount and length of the contract, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not yet final. Hamilton's $25 million average salary matches Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard for the second-highest in baseball, trailing only Alex Rodriguez's $27.5 million average with the New York Yankees. Texas had hoped to sign the 2010 AL Most Valuable Player, who led the Rangers to consecutive World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011. Speaking Thursday after a Rangers' holiday luncheon, Daniels said he had just been informed of the decision by Hamilton's agent, Michael Moye. Daniels said he was disappointed "to some degree," especially since the Rangers never got a chance to match any offer as had been expected during the process. Or at least get contacted before Hamilton agreed with another team. I never expected that he was going to tell us to the dollar what they had, and a chance to offer it. Our full expectation, the phone call was going to be before he signed, and certainly not after," Daniels said. Everybody's got to make their own calls. FILE - In this June 15, 2010 file photo, Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton smiles smiles during batting practice before an interleague baseball game against the Florida Marlins in Miami. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012, that Hamilton has agreed to a contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Hamilton joins a team that spent big last offseason to add first baseman Albert Pujols for $240 million and pitcher C.J. Wilson - Hamilton's Texas teammate - for $77.5 million. Yet, the Angels disappointed and failed to make the playoffs. "He's a tremendous talent and I think that they've shown they're going to be in on a lot of the best players out there," Daniels said. No sugarcoating it, we wanted the player back. And he signed with the Angels. They're better. The agreement came days after the Los Angeles Dodgers added pitchers Zack Greinke and Ryu Hyun-jin, boosting their payroll over $200 million. Greinke, another offseason target, said he chose the Dodgers over the Rangers. Hamilton's addition to the Angels outfield means Mark Trumbo could be moved to third base or traded. Peter Bourjos and Vernon Wells also are among the outfielders competing for time unless a trade is made. Manager Mike Scioscia will have an interesting decision to make on where in the batting order to slot in Pujols, AL Rookie of the Year Mike Trout and Hamilton. Daniels met with Moye last week at the winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn., and had talked about the parameters of a new contract along with numbers. While Daniels wouldn't get into any specifics, he said his understanding is the deal with the Angels "is certainly more guaranteed money." The move keeps Hamilton in the same division with plenty of opportunities to play against his team - the first one coming fast next season. After the Rangers open with three games at new division foe Houston, they play their first home series April 5-7 against the Angels. The 31-year-old slugger was considered a risk by some teams because of his history of alcohol and substance abuse, which derailed his career before his surge with the Rangers over the past five seasons. "Josh has done a lot for the organization, the organization has done a lot for Josh, a lot of things that aren't public and things of that nature," Daniels said. I'm a little disappointment how it was handled, but he had a decision to make and he made it.