Though many players prefer to table extension talks once the season gets underway, Mike Trout doesn't appear to be putting any such deadlines on his negotiations with the Angels. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times wrote last night that Trout is perfectly fine with discussing a new contract over the course of the regular season. "It doesn't matter to me," Trout told DiGiovanna. "Nothing bothers me. I go out there and play, man. I don't worry about any of that stuff.
Trout is under contract for the 2014 season already after agreeing to a record-setting $1MM contract for a pre-arbitration player. Because of that, an extension with the Angels can officially begin in the 2015 season, thereby sparing GM Jerry Dipoto's club any luxury tax implications for the upcoming campaign. Many have speculated that the record-breaking pre-arb commitment was a show of good faith from the Angels that will make a contract extension easier to reach. The two sides were said to be discussing a six-year extension as recently as late February. That contract would run through 2020, buying out three arbitration years and three free agent years.
*buying out three _arbitration_ years
And I’d be surprised if they don’t get something done by the end of spring training. The Angels have the financial muscle to lock up their star, and I feel like it would be a good sign to the fans out there if they do.
Can somebody explain why a pre-arbitration player would set “deadlines” on extension talks? I mean, Trout is under team control until 2017 I believe, what would he do? set a deadline on extension talk and wait until 2017?
Probably because he’s Mike Trout.
The deadline players typically give in this situation is: get the deal done before the season starts or wait until next off-season. No negotiating during the season. Trout doesn’t seem to care about negotiating during the season.
Mike Trout is an amazing player but is also great at talking to the media, that is the kind of player that should be the face of the franchise for years to come.
Barring injury Trout should be one of the greatest players of the “modern era.”
“Should be”?? He already is.
The guy is going to get a monster extension from the Angels and then hit free agency again at age 28…..just in time to get another monster deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the first 300 million dollar player with that second deal. 7 years down the road contracts are only likely to go up. He’d be younger than Cano and a better player overall at a more important defensive position. I think it will happen barring injury.
My concern is market saturation. Baseball is not becoming more popular and more and more young people with no affinity for the sport will be entering the market without a love for the game coupled with s throttled earning capacity.
My concern is market saturation. Baseball is not becoming more popular with the young people that will be entering the market with a throttled earning potential. Baseball will also need to replace the bubble of aging baby boomers. It’ll be interesting… I do see some financial restructuring coming.
He will be the 1st 300m player on this contract. If he keeps playing the way he is still playing, 400m when he is 28 will be a gift to the team that signs him.
It’s called Leverage… and Trout has none, he’s under team control. If they were smart, they’d play out arb, make sure he doesn’t go all Tim Lincecum and cliff dive talent wise, and then trade him in the last year of arb.
Yeah that would be real smart of them. That’s why you are not a GM of any sports franchise.
You’re making the mistake of thinking that all GMs are smart. You propose the Angels severely overpay him for arb years. The point of extending layers through arb years is to get some sort of discount on the FA years. There’s no discount in this 5/6 year 160MM proposal. If he’s going to be a 30 MM player after 2017 so be it. But why make him a 30 MM player now. He projects to only make around 60MM through arb.
Because you and I both know he is that good. They are getting a bargain at 30MM. He is worth 40MM. How many years at a + 10 War does he need to have before everyone sits back and says yeah he is that good?
Yes he is good. I don’t see any player getting 40 MM unless its in Yen. There’s a big iceberg in plain sight that MLB is heading right for. All of these huge ridiculous contracts and players that more likely than not will end up as Ryan Howard and Vernon Wells halfway through their deals or Albert Belle and just become team killers. If you think about a huge extension in terms of what he’d make in arb and subtract it from the deal you’re talking about essentially 50 MM for each year of FA. No discount/bargain/rationale/logic behind doing that deal as a GM.
Will Trout be a 10WAR player until he reaches FA? If he is guaranteed to be a 10WAR player then I have no problem paying him. However, no one can predict how he would perform in the next few years. Most people, except you obviously, do not like to pay future salary based on past performances.
Trout has ZERO leverage until he hits FA. He should stay quite and act innocent to get sympathy and force the Angels to give him a large contract, otherwise he will look selfish and arrogant and hurt his stock/image.
I’m with you..but paying future salary based on past performance is exactly what the Angels did with Pujols and Hamilton.
Paying future salary for past performance is literally what free agency is.
B.J. Upton effect
It’s a bit pre-emptive to call someone one of the greatest players of the modern era when they haven’t even reached arb eligibility yet. He’s on his way, for sure, but let’s see him sustain this productivity for a few more years first.
fangraphs.com/graphsw.aspx?players=1008082,1008315…
Could literally be one of the best of all time, not just the “modern era”.
He is the best player in baseball right now. But no player is worth 30 mill per season. I would never pay kershaw 1 million a game like the dodgers did, they are simply inflating the game and soon the average fan will not be able to afford to take the family to a game.
That aside, I would try and tie him up for as long as I could. Pujols and Hamilton are declining before your very eyes and they will need a face of the franchise. Trout would be that guy
In a world were Choo, McCann and Granderson are worth 15+ MM a year and Ellsbury and Cano are worth 20+ MM a year Trout is absolutely worth 30 MM per year, especially for his prime years.
You missed the obvious point, no player is worth those dollars, period.
Before Nolan Ryan’s deal no player was worth 1 MM per year, salaries go up that the way the game works. If any player is worth 30 MM a year its Trout.
You are assuming salary inflation, which assumes increased revenues. I think generally that’s been a sound bet…but the same would have been said of the housing market a few years ago. I don’t believe there’s a given that baseball retains it’s market
The thing is. None of those players are worth that much. And as a GM, I would rather get two good players for a total of 30 million than Trout. If he was worth 30-40 million like everyone is saying he is, then the Angels should have made the playoffs.
Your case that Trout is/will be worth more than those players and deserving of baseballs highest salary is sound and logical. I think the mistake we get into is putting actual $ figures out there
why should it matter to him, they’ve got to back up the truck full of money. who’s going to complain about that during the season?