With Manny Machado getting his huge contract, we now have an idea of what it will take for the Los Angeles Angels or another team to sign Mike Trout.
The Anaheim Angels are only guaranteed two more seasons of Mike Trout. It sounds like they are aggressively trying to give him an extension, stopping just short of dropping off the Brinks truck at his house.
After Manny Machado got a 10-year deal worth $300 million from the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, they might have to bring two truckloads of cash to Trout’s house.
Bryce Harper will soon sign his mega-deal, which will likely be for even more money than Machado got.
If Machado got $30 million a year, then you would think Trout would get a lot more than that considering he’s already making over $34 million a year.
Trout is a year older than Machado and would be three years older when he hits free agency.
If Trout waits until he’s a free agent at 29, he’ll likely get an eight-year deal for around $320 million. That would be an AAV of $40 million a year.
That seems pretty reasonable for the best player on the planet.
If the Angels were to try and give Mike Trout an extension right now, the number would probably be the same. They would likely try to extend him another eight years at $320 million.
But where the Los Angeles Angels could get creative is they could try to renegotiate the last two years of his contract.
It would be hard to increase the amount he’ll make in 2019 as they’ve already budgeted for this season and are at their max. But they’ll have a lot of contracts coming off the books this season, so they could increase his 2020 amount as an incentive.
Let’s say they increase his 2020 earnings from $34 million to $38 million, Trout could make $358 million over the next nine years — after the 2019 season.
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I think the Angles will have to get creative and do something like that to keep Trout around. While he doesn’t say much, he certainly isn’t giving Angels fans confidence that he wants to stay in Anaheim.
It’s really hard for me to see the Los Angeles Angels, or any team, giving Trout more than $40 million a year. Anything more than that, and possibly even that much, could cripple your franchise.
Even though Trout is the best player on the planet, it’s been proven that one player isn’t even to get a team to the postseason.
The Angels have been known to take on bad contracts recently that are still holding them back.
But I still think Trout is worth the risk, if only because you could have the best player of all-time on your team for most – or all – of his career.