MLB's Best Player Reportedly To Get Lifetime Contract
The Los Angeles Angels know what they have in their superstar center fielder Mike Trout and they don’t want to lose him — ever.
The team is preparing to offer Trout a lifetime contract that would lock him up for the rest of his career, according to Jon Heyman with Fancred Sports.
Trout, a two-time AL MVP, not only is considered the best player in the game right now, but he is already popping up on lists of the greatest hitters of all time.
And he’s only 27.
A strategy for Trout https://t.co/LjVEAEVuHD
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) September 14, 2018
Trout is in the midst of a six-year, $144 million deal that expires after the 2020 season. He is the highest-paid player in the game, making $33.25 million this year.
The Angels brass wants to lock him up before he hits free agency. According to Heyman, the team is seriously considering a lifetime extension for Trout this upcoming off season.
Trout’s biggest concern, Heyman wrote, “seems to be to play for a winner after going to the postseason only one time in seven years with the Angels, and Shohei Ohtani’s Tommy John surgery is a blow for next season.
“However, by all other accounts, Trout seems to have loved his time in Anaheim (or Los Angeles, or wherever they claim to be) despite the fact there’s no weather there (Trout’s other main interest is the weather).”
Before Trout signed his current six-year deal in 2014, the Angels had considered offering him a mega-deal, something in the neighborhood of 14 or 15 years, Heyman reported. But the two sides ultimately agreed to the six-year deal.
Trout won the AL MVP in 2014 and 2016 and was the Rookie of the Year in 2012. He is a seven-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger award winner.
Over his career, he has 234 career home runs and a lifetime batting average of .307.
This year, Trout is having another MVP-caliber season with 33 homers, 68 RBIs and a .318 batting average.
Mike Trout, 5-for-5 with two HRs tonight, has now produced 8.5 Wins Above Replacement, barely trailing Mookie Betts (8.8) for the major league lead. He would be a legitimate MVP candidate if the Angels had a chance. Instead, he'll probably finish second for the fourth time.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) September 9, 2018
Trout and the Boston Red Sox’s Mookie Betts (who has 29 homers, 71 RBIs and a .340 average) are the front-runners to win the AL MVP this year.
Boston’s J.D. Martinez is having a better year at the plate than both of them with 41 home runs, 122 RBIs and a .330 batting average. He leads the league in both homers and RBIs. However, Martinez is considered a longer shot because he is a DH.
.@MikeTrout is on a legendary pace. pic.twitter.com/ZbGQ0GKpIA
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) June 23, 2018
At 27, Trout is just entering his prime years and should be a force for the next eight to 10 years — or more. Through his first 1,000 games, Trout already has hit more home runs than Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig and Mike Schmidt. He is most certainly on a track to go down as one of the greatest players ever.
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