Angels reel in Trout with record deal
Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels are close to finalizing a US$432-million, 12-year contract that would shatter the record for the largest deal in North American sports history.
The deal was disclosed Tuesday by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement hadn’t been finalized. The contract was likely to be announced by the end of this week, the person said.
Trout’s total would top the new $330-million, 12-year contract Bryce Harper signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, and Trout’s $36-million average annual value would surpass pitcher Zack Greinke’s $34.4 million in a six-year 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.
Trout 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.
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.
Los Angeles selected Trout with the 25th-overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft, and he signed for a bonus of $1,215,000. He made his major-league debut on July 8, 2011.
A 27-year-old outfielder entering what should be his prime years, Trout is considered baseball’s top player and would have been coveted as a free agent after the 2020 season.
Trout has been an all-star in each of his seven full big-league seasons and hit .312 with 39 homers, 79 RBIs, 24 steals and 122 walks last year.
Trout has a .307 average with 240 homers, 648 RBIs, 189 steals and 693 walks in eight big-league seasons. He was voted AL Rookie of the Year in 2012 and won the AL MVP award in 2014 and’ 16.