ESPN’s Jeff Passan is reporting that the Los Angeles Angels and Mike Trout are finalizing a contract extension worth $430 million over 12 years. This deal would become the richest in American pro sports history.
The 27-year-old Trout is currently playing on a six-year, $144 million deal that was set to expire in 2020. Instead of waiting to see exactly what kind of bidding war Trout could have whipped up in this era of free-agent market deflation, the Angels decided to plunk their money down now and keep Trout in Los Angeles. The deal has no opt-outs, according to Los Angeles Times beat writer Bill Shaikin, which means that Trout, who could very well end up as the greatest player in baseball history, will likely be an Angel for life.
Despite having the best player in the league on their roster for the last eight seasons, the Angels have only made the playoffs once during Trout’s career, and that appearance ended with a first-round sweep. Now they’ve got 12 years to fix all the problems that have repeatedly denied the greatest baseball player any of us will ever see a shot at playing meaningful, high-stakes baseball. They better not screw this up.