Trout, Angels finalizing record-breaking deal
Mike Trout is on the verge of becoming baseball’s first half-billion dollar man.
Trout and the Los Angeles Angels are close to finalizing a $432 million, 12-year contract that would shatter the record for the largest deal in North American sports history, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The deal was disclosed Tuesday by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been finalized. The contract was likely to be announced by the end of this week, the person said.
Trout, 27,would set a baseball record for career earnings at about $513 million, surpassing the roughly $448 million Alex Rodriguez took in with Seattle, Texas and the New York Yankees from 1994-2017.
“I’m pretty sure I ain’t paying one more dinner for him,” said fellow Angels star Albert Pujols, in the midst of a $240 million, 10-year deal. “It’s well deserved. I don’t think there’s anybody in baseball besides him who deserves that.”
Trout’s latest deal would top the new $330 million, 12-year contract between Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies. And Trout’s $36 million average annual value would surpass pitcher Zack Greinke’s $34.4 million in a sixyear deal with Arizona that started in 2016. The contract also would best Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez’s $356 million deal with sports-streaming service DAZN.
Whether Trout’s contract is the largest in the world for a team athlete is difficult to determine. Forbes estimated Lionel Messi earned $84 million from Barcelona in 2017-18 and Cristiano Ronaldo $61 million from Real Madrid, but precise details of their contracts are not known.
Trout’s deal would include a signing bonus and supersede the $144.5 million, six-year contract that had been set to pay him $33.25 million in each of the next two seasons.
Giants executive won’t be charged
Giants president and CEO Larry Baer will not face charges following a physical altercation with his wife this month that led to him taking a leave of absence from the team.
The San Francisco district attorney’s office said Tuesday there isn’t evidence to file criminal charges against Baer stemming from his argument with wife Pam on March 1 in a San Francisco plaza.
DA’S office spokesman Alex Bastian said, “After a careful review of the relevant evidence, including multiple videos, statements from several witnesses and the parties themselves, the evidence does not support filing criminal charges.”
Baer was granted a leave of absence from the team on March 4 following the release of a video that captured the altercation. The video posted by TMZ showed Pam Baer seated in a chair when he reached over her to grab for a cellphone in her right hand and she toppled sideways to the ground in the chair screaming, “Oh my God!”
Baer and his wife issued a statement shortly afterward, saying they regretted having a “heated argument in public over a family matter” and that they were embarrassed by the situation.
Baer later issued his own apology.
Notable
• Detroit Tigers righthander Michael Fulmer may need Tommy John surgery. Fulmer won AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2016 but has struggled to return to that form. He was 3-12 with a 4.69 ERA last year, and his season was cut short in mid-september because of knee problems.
• Gio Gonzalez and the New York Yankees agreed to a minor-league contract Monday. If added to the 40-man roster, the 33-year-old left-hander would get a $3 million salary while in the major leagues and the chance to earn performance bonuses.