Josh Hamilton will undergo an MRI Thursday night. If the results show a sports hernia, Hamilton could undergo surgery in Philadelphia within the next 48 hours. But he should be fine for the start of the 2012 season. The 30-year-old slugger posted an .882 OPS and 25 home runs in 121 games this year for the American League champion Rangers.

Josh Hamilton has decided that he will indeed travel to Philadelphia Thursday for a groin exam. A report Wednesday said that Hamilton was cancelling the trip due to an illness in his family, but the examination is now back on. Doctors might recommend surgery, but the expectation is that the 30-year-old slugger will be fine by the start of spring training next February. He posted an .882 OPS and 25 homers in 121 games this season.

Josh Hamilton will not travel to Philadelphia on Thursday to have his left groin examined. Hamilton is currently dealing with an illness in his family and has pushed back the doctor's visit to next week. He could need surgery, but the injury and this sudden delay should not affect his ability to get ready for the start of the 2012 season. The 30-year-old slugger hit .298/.346/.536 in 2011 with 25 home runs and 94 RBI.

Josh Hamilton will have his left groin injury examined Thursday in Philadelphia.

The Rangers would prefer Josh Hamilton to play left field exclusively in 2012. In his first two years with the Rangers, Hamilton was the center fielder, but he made just 29 and 30 starts in center over the last two seasons, respectively. Hamilton will be less of a defensive liability in left and playing a less-taxing position would obviously be of benefit to the brittle slugger.

According to Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas, Josh Hamilton will be examined next week to determine the extent of an injury self-diagnosed as a possible sports hernia during the World Series. "You're always concerned when surgery is being brought up, but he had surgery in '09 and bounced back and won the MVP," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "Maybe that will be the lucky surgery." The scheduled examination will be with the same doctor who performed surgery on Hamilton in 2009 to repair a torn abdominal muscle that kept him out for over a month. Throughout the postseason he played in obvious pain and the injury clearly affected his power, outside of the two-run home run in Game 6.

Josh Hamilton and Michael Young delivered RBI doubles and provided the Rangers entire offense in a 6-2 loss to the Cardinals in Game 7 of the World Series. Both runs came in the first inning and could have been bigger had Ian Kinsler not stumbled and been caught stealing. Hamilton posted solid numbers despite being less than 100 percent and reportedly playing through a sports hernia. Over 70 postseason at-bats he hit .271 with one home run and 13 RBI.

Josh Hamilton told reporters before Game 3 of the World Series that he might have a sports hernia. The Rangers' medical team has not run tests to confirm that diagnosis, and will probably refrain from doing so until after the World Series. Hamilton is running poorly and featuring a tweaked swing that is a bit too reliant on his upper body, but he's better at 50 percent health than the other options on Texas' bench. The slugger is playing center field on Saturday night.

Rangers manager Ron Washington told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News that Josh Hamilton will start at centerfield and not be moved to DH for Game 3 of the World Series. "He's playing the outfield," Washington said. "I read where people wanted me to put him on the bench. They wanted him on the bench, out [of] the lineup. We've got five games left. I'm playing Josh. I'm not changing anything." Hamilton was in the lineup for Game 2 and had a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning but admitted he's playing at less than 100 percent. It wouldn't be surprising to see Craig Gentry log some innings as a defensive replacement but nothing more as the series gets to Arlington.

Per ESPN's Richard Durrett, Josh Hamilton's strained groin is bothering him enough that he would be on the disabled list if it were the regular season. Craig Gentry and Endy Chavez could be used as late-inning defensive replacements should Hamilton's sore groin impact him enough to concern manager Ron Washington. With Yorvit Torrealba scheduled to start at catcher, Mike Napoli will move to first base or DH. However, if Hamilton were to DH, Michael Young would be forced to come off the bench, though the Rangers appear optimistic that the injury will not significantly alter their lineup.