Trout hopes upcoming Angels’ season can match his offseason
TEMPE, ARIZ. » Mike Trout is hoping his 2018 season can match a tremendous offseason: He got married, watched his beloved Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl and participated in the Angels’ successful recruitment of Japanese pitcher-hitter Shohei Ohtani.
Trout, who took part Monday in the team’s first full-squad workout, said he tried to persuade Ohtani that the Angels were a good organization to play for “and just told him that we wanted him.”
“You obviously want to make a good case to get him to come here. Obviously, it worked,” he said. “Talking to him and talking to his interpreter, I knew there was a shot. We wanted him. We got him.”
Trout found out the Angels landed Ohtani at the rehearsal dinner for his wedding in December to Jessica Tara Cox.
“I called some buddies, called some of my teammates,” said Trout, who praised Angels general manager Billy Eppler for putting in years of work to sign Ohtani. “We were all happy.”
Trout, who grew up in New Jersey as an Eagles fan, said that when he realized he could get tickets to the Super Bowl, he figured, “They have a good chance of winning,” so he told his wife, “We should probably be a part of it.”
“I was fortunate enough to get a few extra tickets and make it happen,” he said.
But as for the highlight of the winter, “Obviously getting married.”
On the field, Trout will lead a team with higher expectations than in the past couple of seasons thanks to the signings of Ohtani, infielders Ian Kinsler and Zack Cozart and the return to health of several pitchers. The Angels went 80-82 last year and haven’t won a postseason game since 2009.
“People are going to think the expectations are higher, for sure,” the two-time AL MVP said. “”We’re trying to get to the playoffs and make a push. We have one goal: to try to win a championship. We’re really excited to get this thing going.”
Asked if the Angels’ longterm prospects have an impact on how much he much he wants to remain on the team, the 26-year-old outfielder replied, “For sure.” Trout said Eppler, owner Arte Moreno and manager Mike Scioscia “are doing a good job to bring guys in and putting a great team out there.”
Trout’s contract runs through 2020, after which he could become a free agent. At that point, he could well become the highest-paid player in history.
“It’s obviously cool,” Trout said of such prospects. “But I go out there and play. I don’t think about that any of stuff. We brought in a bunch of new guys and we’re trying to compete for a championship.”
Bryce Harper focused on 2018, not future
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. » Bryce Harper is focusing on his immediate future. But don’t bother asking him about plans beyond this year.
“If you guys do talk anything about that, I’ll be walking right out the door,” he said Monday.
Everyone around baseball knows the Washington Nationals slugger could be part of a huge free agent class after the coming season. But if teams are saving money by passing on currently available players in hopes of signing a big star next year, that doesn’t sound like the best way to impress Harper.
“I think if I’m an organization or a team I want the best players on my team,” Harper said. “My fans deserve that, the players deserve that.”
Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, Charlie Blackmon and potentially Clayton Kershaw could be free agents next offseason. Some within the industry suggest this market is slow because teams have their eyes on 2019 — pitchers Jake Arrieta and Alex Cobb and position players J.D. Martinez and Mike Moustakas are among the players looking for work with spring training already underway.
“I’m not sure what people are thinking or anything like that, but if I’m a fan base or I’m a team and you’re trying to lose ballgames to get the No, 1 pick, I’ll take a Jayson Werth or anybody like that over a first round pick any day of the week,” Harper said.
A five-time All-Star and 2015 MVP, Harper addressed the media on Monday for the first time this spring. He made a point of telling reporters he wouldn’t discuss anything beyond the 2018 season.
Harper said the knee injury that limited him late last season is no longer a concern. He didn’t dwell on Washington’s loss to the Cubs in a five-game NL Division Series.
“They beat us and that was it,” Harper said.
The NL East champs three of the past four seasons, the Nationals have yet to win a playoff series since relocating to Washington in 2005.
Washington is once again well positioned for a playoff run. In Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, the Nationals have arguably the best 1-2 pitching combination in the National League. With Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy, Anthony Rendon and Harper in the middle of the lineup, Washington’s bats have plenty of thump.
Mets GM says Tebow will reach majors
PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA. » Tim Tebow arrived at the New York Mets spring training camp on Sunday, and the attention immediately turned to whether the quarterback who became an outfielder could make it all the way to Citi Field in the future.
Guess what? Mets general manager Sandy Alderson votes yes.
“Somebody asked me if thought he’d be a major league player at some point. I think he will play in the major leagues. That’s my guess,” Alderson said.
“This experiment is not going to last forever, but he’s made meaningful progress. We thought he would best benefit from being in major league camp — that that would accelerate his development,” Alderson said.
The 30-year-old Tebow has already had success on another field. A former Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion at Florida, he reached the NFL and threw an overtime TD pass for Denver to beat Pittsburgh in the playoffs.
“As an athlete, you always want to be the best you can and play at the highest level, win a championship, be the best. We don’t compete to have fun, we compete to win. So you want to compete at the highest level,” Tebow said,
“I view success as being able to play a game I love every day,” he said. “If the best that I can be is in the bigs, that would be awesome.”
Tebow earned a midseason promotion from Low-A Columbia to High-A St. Lucie in late June despite hitting just .220 in 64 games in the South Atlantic League.