Associated Press/Jae C. Hong
This was always the logical blueprint for Mike Trout, the greatest and least complicated player in baseball. Trout would not sell himself short financially, but he also would not draw out the process of determining his future. He and the Los Angeles Angels would wait for Bryce Harper to set a contract record in free agency, and then make a deal that would break it.
That is what has happened, apparently, with Trout and the Angels finalizing a 10-year, $360 million contract extension with no opt-outs, a deal that will bring the Angels’ total commitment to nearly $430 million for Trout over the next 12 seasons, through 2030.