SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Even on the "light" days, the burden of a comeback is heavy for Josh Hamilton.

Scheduled to do nothing but a little bit of running the bases on Tuesday, Hamilton felt some stiffness in his surgically-repaired left knee and will be examined in Houston by the surgeon who reconstructed his ACL last year.

After a consultation, Dr. Walt Lowe asked the Rangers to send Hamilton to his Houston clinic for a follow-up exam. Assistant general manager Mike Daly said the Rangers were unsure of the level of severity, but wanted to be cautious with the situation.

Hamilton, who turns 36 in May, did not play last year because of the knee situation and has been limited to just 139 games over the past three seasons by injuries. He has had 10 total surgeries on his knees.

He is in camp on a minor league contract trying to convert to first base. He had been on a schedule of doing baseball activities two days in a row and then taking one "light" day and had hope to go to a three-on, one-off schedule next week.

Hamilton is due to receive $28.4 million this year. The Los Angeles Angels are responsible for $26.4 million with the Rangers covering the other $2 million, regardless of whether he is on the roster or not.

Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant