Sources: Angels, Trout near new $430M deal
Star center fielder Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels are finalizing the largest contract in professional sports history, a 12-year deal worth more than $430 million that will smash previous records and could keep the greatest player of his generation with the Angels for the remainder of his career, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN on Tuesday.
Trout, who has won two American League MVP awards and finished second four times, will receive an average of nearly $36 million a year, topping Zack Greinke's previous record average of $34.4 million with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The $430 million-plus total is more than 30 percent larger than the $330 million deal Bryce Harper signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on March 2 and bests boxer Canelo Alvarez's deal with DAZN by more than $65 million.
Trout, 27, was due to be a free agent following the 2020 season, at which point he was expected to set off a frenzied bidding war among the largest-market teams in the game. The clamoring already had begun, with Harper lobbying for Trout to join him in Philadelphia, 45 miles from Trout's hometown of Millville, New Jersey.
The Angels will nullify that possibility by ripping up the final two seasons of his six-year, $144.5 million deal and replacing it with the new 12-year deal through the 2030 season, sources told ESPN.
A generational talent with an unparalleled set of skills among his peers, Trout has put together arguably the greatest start to a career in baseball history. In 1,065 games, he has slashed .307/.416/.573 with 240 home runs, 648 RBIs, 793 runs and 189 stolen bases. No player in history has put up more wins above replacement through his age-26 season than Trout's 64.3.
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