Los Angeles Angels slugger Josh Hamilton's drug relapse could cost him a year of playing time in the MLB.
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Hamilton met with MLB officials in New York last week to admit to a drug relapse involving cocaine and alcohol during the offseason. With a committee deadlocked in a 2-2 tie over the decision of whether or not Hamilton should go to rehab, an arbitrator is set to make a call, according to ESPN.
On top of that, the MLB is deciding whether or not it should consider Hamilton a four-time offender, which would increase his suspension from 50-75 games up to possibly a full year.
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Per the report, the commissioner's office and the MLB Players Association each sent a lawyer and a doctor to form a committee to decide the treatment for Hamilton as well as whether the league's drug policy was violated.
With a split decision over whether or not Hamilton should enter rehab, an arbitrator will now make the final decision.
Hamilton reported his relapse himself, reportedly involving alcohol and a one-time use of cocaine, when he realized that a drug test administered to him three-times a week would come back positive.
Hamilton has a history of substance abuse issues, which led to the MLB suspending him for three years from 2004-06 when he was a minor leaguer and also led to alcohol relapses in 2009 and 2013.
MLBPA executive director Tony Clark met with Angels players Wednesday to discuss the situation. Hamilton is expected to be sidelined until May after undergoing shoulder surgery and isn't with his teammates for spring training.
"Our concern about any confidential information that makes its way into the headlines is always significant," Clark told the Los Angeles Times. "As a result, we always do our due diligence in an effort to determine where that confidential information came from."
He added: "What I hope for is support for Josh. There are always baseball concerns. There are, more importantly, life concerns. We have protocols in place to handle the baseball-related issues. But I'm hopeful that anyone in the baseball family who finds himself in a tough spot gets support as a person beyond baseball."
Hamilton is in the midst of a five-year $125 million contract he signed with Los Angeles is 2013.
Hamilton, 33, won the AL Most Valuable Player Award in 2010 when he hit .359 with 32 homers and 100 RBI in the first season of back-to-back trips to the World Series in 2010 and 2011 with the Texas Rangers.
The five-time All-Star hit .263 in 89 games last season with Los Angeles, hitting 10 homers and 44 RBI.
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