Mike Trout Contract Caps off $1.32B Spent on Four MLB Players

What started off as one of the slowest offseasons in recent memory is suddenly capped off by Mike Trout‘s record-breaking MLB contract.

This MLB offseason can be defined as somewhat of an enigma. It started off with weeks of absolute nothingness, then suddenly, within a couple of weeks four players (Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado, Bryce Harper, and Mike Trout) received a grand total of $1.32B.

Baseball is known for it’s insanely rich, guaranteed contracts. Lately, however, with the advent of analytics, those head-scratching deals seemed to happen with less frequency.

Before this offseason, Giancarlo Stanton was the last to receive such a massive contract. By comparison, his 13-year, $325M deal before the 2015 season looks quite meek now.

Before Stanton, Alex Rodriguez had gotten the massive, record-breaking deal… twice.

The first in 2001, when he doubled the highest paid American professional athlete, Kevin Garnet’s salary. That season, A-Rod signed a 10-year, $252M deal with the Texas Rangers. Then, after the 2007 season, A-Rod signed another 10-year deal, this one worth $275M.

With MLB seeing an increase in revenue every season and ballplayers seeing a decrease in pay, it was starting to feel like the supersized deal was rapidly becoming a thing of the past. In 2019, however, they’re only becoming more lucrative.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the four record-breaking contracts signed this offseason, in the order that they occurred.

Manny Machado came up with the Baltimore Orioles at the young age of 19 and immediately turned heads with his offensive and defensive ability. Originally, Machado wasn’t much of a power hitter, slugging a combined .434 in his first three big league seasons.

With age, however, Machado became one of the rare breeds of athletes who could smack 30 dingers in a season with regularity. In fact, beginning in his fourth big league season, Machado’s ability to hit for power has gotten better and better. He slugged a career-high .538 in 2018.

Defensively, Machado has always fared much much better, especially as a third baseman. Since 2012, at 3B, Machado features a 61.7 defensive rating (Def) on FanGraphs. That’s tops among all 3B in the same time span. Directly behind him, the 2nd player on this list (next slide), Nolan Arenado has a 50.4 (Def)

Not everything is good with Machado, however. The elite infielder carrier what some would characterize as a bad attitude on the field, highlighted by his attitude on and off the field during the 2018 postseason.

All that being said, the San Diego Padres still decided to honor Machado with what was at the time, the biggest contract in American professional sports based on AAV. On February 21, 2019, the Padres and Machado agreed on a 10-year, $300M deal ($30M AAV).

Machado would hold the mantle for close to a week. Then, close to a week later…

Nolan Arenado came up with the Colorado Rockies in 2013 at the age of 22. From the moment he stepped on the field, he never looked back.

Like Machado, Arenado wasn’t exactly a premier power hitter in his first couple of seasons with the team. However, beginning in his third big league season, Arenado regularly smacks 35-40 HRs per season with 100 RBI.

Winning a Silver Slugger in each of his last FOUR consecutive seasons, Arenado has featured a .500 or better SLG in FIVE straight seasons and has improved his ability to get on-base dramatically throughout his career. In fact, his rookie season, Arenado featured a .301 OBP. Last season, he had a career-high .374 OBP.

Not only that, Arenado has won a Gold Glove award in every single one of his seasons in MLB. He’s saved a big league-best 109 runs since making his debut in 2013. That’s 32 more runs than the aforementioned Manny Machado has saved in the same time span.

For his offensive and defensive prowess, Nolan Arenado has rewarded been this offseason. On February 26, 2019, one year before he was to become an unrestricted free agent, the Colorado Rockies signed Arenado to a record-breaking 8-year, $260M deal ($32.5 AAV).

As you might have guessed, however, Arenado’s record-breaking deal wouldn’t last too long. Close to two days later…

Bryce Harper, like Manny Machado burst on the scenes at the age of 19. While a completely different player than both Machado and Arenado, Harper has a propensity to be the center of attention in MLB.

He’s got the flash, the hair, the power, and, after last year’s Home Run Derby, the dramatics. What’s more, he’s single-handedly taken the reigns on the “make baseball fun” movement (pictured above).

Unlike, Machado and Arenado, Harper’s bread and butter is his ability to hit for power and his ability to get on base. In SIX of seven seasons, Harper has hit 20 or more home runs. His career high, 42 HR came in 2014, the same season he took home the NL MVP award.

Harper’s greatest weakness, however, is his defense. Last season, he featured a career-low -26 DRS, the 2nd worse of all MLB outfielders. His defensive rating (Def) was a pathetic -16.7, the worst of any outfielder in MLB.

Still, on February 28, 2019, the Philadelphia Phillies rewarded Harper with a record-breaking 13-year, $330M contract. The richest contract in the history of professional sports.

While the AAV ($25.38M) is significantly less than Machado and Arenado, overall, no player at that point had ever received a contract larger than Harper’s.

Lucky for Bryce, he got to enjoy his for approximately three weeks, then…