Mike Trout is on the verge of becoming baseball's first half-billion dollar man.
Trout and the Los Angeles Angels are close to finalizing a $432 million, 12-year contract that would shatter the record for the largest deal in North American sports history, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The deal was disclosed Tuesday by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been finalized. The contract was likely to be announced by the end of this week, the person said.
Trout would set a baseball record for career earnings at about $513 million, surpassing the roughly $448 million Alex Rodriguez took in with Seattle, Texas and the New York Yankees from 1994-2017.
Trout's latest deal would top the new $330 million, 12-year contract between Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies, and Trout's $36 million average annual value would surpass pitcher Zack Greinke's $34.4 million in a six-year deal with Arizona that started in 2016. The contract also would best Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez's $356 million deal with sports-streaming service DAZN.
Progress toward an agreement was first reported by ESPN.
Whether Trout's contract is the largest in the world for a team athlete is difficult to determine. Forbes estimated Lionel Messi earned $84 million from Barcelona in 2017-18 and Cristiano Ronaldo $61 million from Real Madrid, but precise details of their contracts are not known.
Trout's deal would include a signing bonus and supersede the $144.5 million, six-year contract that had been set to pay him $33.25 million in each of the next two seasons.
While the marketplace has been slow for many players this offseason, prompting complaints from the players' association, top stars have gained robust deals. Four of the largest seven contracts will have been agreed to since Feb. 19, with Trout and Harper joined by Manny Machado ($300 million for 10 years with San Diego) and Nolan Arenado ($260 million for eight years with Colorado).
A 27-year-old entering what should be his prime years, Trout is considered baseball's top player and would have been coveted as a free agent after the 2020 season. He lives in southern New Jersey, and Harper said he was excited about trying to recruit Trout to join him in Philadelphia.
Although Trout recently built a home in his native Millville, N.J., he is staying on the West Coast with the Angels, who are coming off three consecutive losing seasons and haven't won a playoff game during his career.
Trout and wife Jessica have made no secret of how much they enjoy living in laid-back Southern California, and the low-key outfielder decided to skip the pressure free agency entirely.
Trout has been an All-Star in each of his seven full big league seasons and hit .312 with 39 home runs, 79 RBI, 24 stolen bases and 122 walks last year. He led the major leagues in OPS in each of the last two seasons.
Trout has a .307 average with 240 home runs, 648 RBI, 189 stolen bases and 693 walks in eight big league seasons. He was voted American League Rookie of the Year in 2012, won the AL MVP award in 2014 and 2016 and finished second in MVP voting four times, tying the record shared by Stan Musial, Ted Williams and Albert Pujols.
Los Angeles selected Trout with the 25th overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft, and he signed for a bonus of $1,215,000. Trout played 91 games with the Arkansas Travelers in 2011. He made his major league debut July 8, 2011 when Peter Bourjos was injured. While with the Travs, Trout batted .326 with 11 home runs, 38 RBI and 82 runs scored.
Big-money deals have not worked out for the Angels in the past. Pujols agreed to a $240 million, 10-year deal before the 2012 season but has not matched his previous performance with St. Louis. Josh Hamilton signed a $125 million, five-year contract before the 2013 season and contributed just 31 home runs and 123 RBI in two years with the Angels.
Trout is viewed differently as a home-grown Angels player and forms a core with Japanese star two-way player Shohei Ohtani, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Ohtani is expected to be able to hit for the Angels at some time in the first half of the season and to resume pitching in the 2020 season.
Trout has reached the playoffs just once, when the Angels won the AL West in 2014 and were swept by Kansas City. Los Angeles has a new manager this season, as Brad Ausmus replaced Mike Scioscia, the team's leader since 2000.
Los Angeles has a lucrative television contract, a fan base that has packed Angel Stadium with 3 million fans for 16 consecutive seasons and an owner in Arte Moreno who rarely hesitates to spend. The Angels' farm system has improved sharply during General Manager Billy Eppler's three-year tenure.
Mike Trout's career statistics
YEAR G AB R H HR RBI AVG OBP SLG OPS
2011 40 123 20 27 5 16 .220 .281 .390 .672
2012 139 559 129 182 30 83 .326 .399 .564 .963
2013 157 589 109 190 27 97 .323 .432 .557 .988
2014 157 602 115 173 36 111 .287 .377 .561 .939
2015 159 575 104 172 41 90 .299 .402 .590 .991
2016 159 549 123 173 29 100 .315 .441 .550 .991
2017 114 402 92 123 33 72 .306 .442 .629 1.071
2018 140 471 101 147 39 79 .312 .460 .628 1.088
Totals 1,065 3,870 793 1,187 240 648 .307 .416 .573 .990
SOURCE baseball-reference.com
Largest MLB contract packages
• MLB contracts worth $200 million or more at the time they were signed. Figures were obtained from player and management sources and include all guaranteed money but not income from potential incentive bonuses. There is no distinction for deferred money (x-pending):
PLAYER, CLUB YEARS TOTAL
x-Mike Trout, LAA 2019-30 $430 million
Bryce Harper, PHI 2019-31 $330 million
Giancarlo Stanton, MIA-NYY 2015-27 $325 million
Manny Machado, SD 2019-28 $300 million
Miguel Cabrera, DET 2014-23 $292 million
Alex Rodriguez, NYY 2008-17 $275 million
Nolan Arenado, COL 2019-26 $260 million
Alex Rodriguex, TEX-NYY 2001-10 $252 million
Joey Votto, CIN 2012-23 $251.5 million
Albert Pujols, LAA 2012-21 $240 million
Robinson Cano, SEA-NYM 2014-23 $240 million
David Price, BOS 2016-22 $217 million
Clayton Kershaw, LAD 2014-20 $215 million
Prince Fielder, DET-TEX 2012-20 $214 million
Max Scherzer, WAS 2015-21 $210 million
Zack Greinke, ARI 2016-21 $206.5 million
SOURCES Associated Press, Democrat-Gazette staff
Sports on 03/20/2019