Mike Trout, the best player in baseball, isn’t going anywhere for a long, long time.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Tuesday that Trout and the Los Angeles Angels were finalizing an absolutely massive contract extension that will keep Trout with the Angels for the rest of his career.
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That extension became official Wednesday night.
OFFICIAL: @MikeTrout agrees to terms on a 12-year contract. pic.twitter.com/0HDtayjmMt
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) March 21, 2019
According to ESPN, the extension is for 12 years and $430 million. Trout has two years left on his current six-year, $144 million contract, and once the extension kicks in, he’ll be the highest-paid player in baseball (and he’ll own the record for highest per year salary ever). He’ll be paid just short of $36 million a year, smashing the record previously held by Zack Greinke and his current $34.4 million salary from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“This is where I wanted to be all along,” Trout said in a statement released by the Angels. “I have enjoyed my time as an Angel and look forward to representing the organization, my teammates and our fans for years to come.”
“This is an exciting day for Angels fans and every player who has ever worn an Angels uniform,” Angels owner Arte Moreno said. “Mike Trout, an athlete whose accomplishments have placed him among the greatest baseball players in the history of the game, has agreed to wear an Angels uniform for his entire career.”
There is no question that Trout deserves a contract of this size. He’s been the consensus best player in baseball since his first full season in 2012. He’s played for eight seasons and has a career triple slash of .307/.416/.573. He won the American League Rookie of the Year in 2012, and the AL Most Valuable Player award in 2014 and 2016. He’s finished in second place four times in MVP voting, and has never finished outside the top ten. He’s won six Silver Slugger awards, and has been an All-Star every full season he’s played. He’s a no doubt future Hall of Famer, and now he’ll be an Angel for the rest of his career.
Trout, 27, was two years away from hitting free agency. Even though there were 20 months between the start of the current baseball season and Trout’s free agency, there were already whispers about where he would end up. The team mentioned most consistently was the Philadelphia Phillies, the team that just signed Bryce Harper to his own mega-deal.
Trout is from New Jersey and grew up a Phillies fan, and Harper made his intentions clear after he signed: he was going to call Trout and try to convince him to sign with the Phillies. It looks like Trout has saved Harper a phone call.
