Angels center fielder Mike Trout remains the best player in baseball, and he's still just 27 years of age. Trout's locked up through the 2020 season thanks to the six-year, $144 million contract extension he signed, but the Angels may already be thinking about his long-term future.
Speaking of which, here's this scoop from Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports:
The Angels are expected to try again to make Mike Trout a lifetime Angel when they discuss a contract this winter, and one rival agent suggested Trout's agent would be wise to wait until free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are signed to provide the floor.
As Heyman notes, the Angels wanted to sign Trout to what would have been in essence a lifetime pact prior to inking him to that six-year contract. Will Trout be more amenable this time around? That's hard to say. He's already achieved financial security and then some, so he'll hardly be desperate.
The Angels' repeated inability to build a contender around him will surely be a consideration. Will the comforts of remaining a part of the organization that drafted him outweigh Trout's desires to go elsewhere? Or perhaps he's optimistic about the Angels' future given that Shohei Ohtani is in the fold for years to come.
Trout, who's racked up more than 60 WAR in less than eight full seasons, is a future Hall of Famer and already a franchise legend. The Angels, no doubt, would love to keep him from ever putting on another uniform. To achieve that, though, will cost them a lot of money and perhaps promises to do more to surround Trout with a competitive roster.