The Cincinnati Reds agreed Friday to trade outfielder Josh Hamilton to the Texas Rangers for pitcher Edinson Volquez and a minor league pitcher.
The 26-year-old Hamilton batted .292 this year in his first major league season with 19 homers and 47 RBIs in 298 at-bats. His season was interrupted by an inflamed digestive track and a sprained wrist, but he still received 151,000 write-in votes for the All-Star game, the top total in the NL.
Taken by Tampa Bay with the first pick of the 1999 amateur draft, Hamilton didn’t make it above Double-A with the Devil Rays, his career slowed by alcohol and drug addiction.
Volquez, a 24-year-old right-hander, was 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA in six starts for the Rangers last season.