Craig Landis, Mike Trout's representative at LSW Baseball, responded to critics of his client's new six-year, $144.5MM extension today. Some have said Trout could have argued for a contract in the $300MM range, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times notes, while rival agents contend the outfielder would have benefited from a year-to-year approach to arbitration. Landis emphasized Trout's youth and the security the contract provides in defending it this weekend. "We’re not like the other people," he commented. "We feel that Mike is going to do well … [w]hat Mike was trying to accomplish was some financial security, but also keeping the door open for whatever may happen down the road."
- Landis also broached the idea of a lifetime contract in negotiations, but it didn't get any traction, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.
- For his part, Trout believes the deal's six-year length is "perfect," the LA Times' Mike DiGiovanna tweets. "The owner put [a] big number out there like $33MM [and] it's hard to turn down," Trout said.
- Angels owner Arte Moreno says six years was the minimum the Angels were comfortable with, and that the club would have preferred a seven- or eight-year contract, according to the Orange County Register's Jeff Fletcher (Twitter link). Many have focused on the overall guarantee in analyzing Trout's deal, but these comments suggest the length of the deal — and thus the age at which Trout will be able to reach free agency — was a major factor in negotiations.
