Angels offer Mike Trout baseball’s biggest deal yet

The Los Angeles Angels and Mike Trout are close to finalizing a $432 million, 12-year contract that will make the 27-year-old outfielder the highest paid player in major league baseball and one of the richest athletes in sports history, according to an ESPN report Tuesday. The deal eclipses the recent record-setting $330 million, 12-year contract that free agent outfielder Bryce Harper signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Trout was expected to put his services up for bid in the lucrative free agent market at the end of the 2020 season, when his current agreement with the Angels expired, but he’ll now likely finish out his career with the team. “It’s well deserved,” said teammate Albert Pujols. “I don’t think there's anybody in baseball besides him who deserves that.”

The two-time American League MVP has a career batting average of .307, with 240 home runs, 648 RBIs, and 189 stolen bases in his eight seasons in the big leagues. With the new agreement, Trout will take home an average of $36 million a year.

Meanwhile, the major league baseball season opened in Tokyo on Wednesday, with Seattle defeating Oakland 9-7. The Mariners will play the Athletics again Thursday in Japan, while the other 28 teams continue to train in Florida and Arizona in anticipation of baseball’s official start on March 28, the earliest opening day in history.