"With Prince Fielder off the market it would seem like Jon Daniels and the Rangers front office would have the majority of their attention focused on getting a long-term deal done with Josh Hamilton.

On Friday, Daniels, the Rangers general manager, said there have been talks with Hamilton's representatives and those conversations will continue with the hopes of something being finalized by the start of the regular season.

"We both agree that we don't want it to be a distraction," Daniels said Friday on 103.3's The Ben and Skin Show [KESN-FM]. "Unless we're 90 percent down the line, we both agree, 'Hey let's do it right up until we report and after that let's put it aside.' ... Hopefully, by that point we will have had something positive to report. But if we don't, we've agreed that it's all positive, we love him, he loves the Rangers and we'll move forward."

Hamilton, who is in the final year of a two-year, $24 million contract, will become a free agent at the end of the 2012 season."