Skip to content

Report: Angels expected to offer Trout 'lifetime' deal in offseason

Rob Carr / Getty Images Sport / Getty

If the Los Angeles Angels have their way, Mike Trout will be wearing a halo until he retires.

The Angels will try to make Trout a "lifetime Angel" during contract talks this offseason, according to a report from Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports.

Heyman's report comes nearly a week after The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported the Angels were toying with extending Trout an extension offer this winter in the range of eight years and $320 million. If that attempt failed, according to Rosenthal, the team would explore trading its iconic player before next season.

Trout's current contract - a six-year, $144.5-million deal - expires after the 2020 season. If an eight-year extension kicked in afterward, it would only take him through the end of his age-36 season in 2028. While no potential figures were put forth by Heyman, a "lifetime" deal for Trout would presumably be even larger than the figures suggested last week. The possibility exists that Trout could even dwarf Giancarlo Stanton's $325-million contract that currently stands as the largest deal in North American sports history.

The 27-year-old Trout is baseball's best player, but the Angels have made the playoffs just once since he arrived seven years ago - in 2014, when they were swept by Kansas City in that year's ALDS.

Despite his team not living up to expectations, Trout has put together one historic season after another, and 2018 has been no exception. Although he missed much of August due to a wrist injury and personal issues, he's hitting .315/.464/.614 with 33 homers, 21 doubles, 68 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases in just 126 games. He leads all hitters in on-base percentage, OPS, OPS+, and walks, and is on track to be worth nine wins above replacement for the sixth time in seven years, per Fangraphs.

Trout's 2018 salary of $33.25 million is the highest for any position player in MLB.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox