Trout near new $430 million deal

The Los Angeles Angels and All-Star outfielder Mike Trout are finalizing a new 12-year contract extension worth more than $430 million, which would be the richest deal ever awarded to an athlete, according to ESPN.

The deal is superlative in every way. The $430 million total would top the Major League Baseball-record $330 million deal that outfielder Bryce Harper signed with the Philadelphia Phillies last month. The per-year average of $36 million would also be an MLB record.

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 replace it with the new 12-year deal through the 2030 season, sources told ESPN.

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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.

While the Angels’ past forays into long-term contracts have not paid off — their 10-year, $240 million deal with Albert Pujols and five-year, $125 million deal with Josh Hamilton both are considered albatrosses — the possibility of losing Trout was simply too daunting to not complete a deal. Trout casts his lot with an organization that has made the playoffs just once during his eight major league seasons — and was swept in the first round when it did. Los Angeles’ bustling farm system and the ability for owner Arte Moreno to parlay a $3 billion local TV deal into higher payrolls gave Trout enough security to lock down a deal through his age-38 season.

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