By Robert Cunningham, Angelswin.com Senior Writer

It is at this moment where we need to take a moment, stop to remind ourselves, and extend a tremendous thank you to Arte Moreno for authorizing the largest extension contract in the history of Major League Baseball to lock up perhaps the Greatest Of All Time (the G.O.A.T.!!!!), our very own center fielder, Mike Trout.

Thank you Arte! Great job Eppler! Mike we love you!

As fans we are living the dream by actually signing our best player to a career extension and preparing to enter a period of greater team relevancy in terms of the potential to go to the playoffs. Next season should be a marked improvement across the entire roster as Moreno and Eppler have upgraded at multiple positions.

By the time late May/early June rolls around, Trout should be flanked in center field by Justin Upton and our emerging number one prospect, Jo Adell and the middle infield will likely consist of Simmons at SS and Fletcher at 2B. First base might be one or a combination of Walsh, Thaiss, Pujols, or a free agent or trade acquisition. Third base has been markedly improved for the next several years via the signing of the best 3B in baseball, Anthony Rendon. Designated hitter will certainly be some combination of Ohtani, Pujols, and other members of the team cycling through the spot on days off from playing in the field.

Our rotation has marginally improved through the acquisition and signing of Dylan Bundy and Julio Teheran, respectively, adding to the existing rotation base of Ohtani and Heaney plus one or more of Barria, Canning, Sandoval, Andriese, and Suarez. The bullpen should have a host of familiar names like Buttrey, Robles, Middleton, Anderson, Ramirez, Bard, Cole, and Mayers, among others.

The point is that not only will there be significant upgrades but team depth will have improved once again, allowing the team to absorb temporary and even long-term injuries without losing much overall effectiveness. Beyond that the Angels deserve some better luck in staying healthy in 2020 (i.e. team health BABIP will hopefully return to the mean). If you are one of the fans out there worried about starting pitching, all the Angels really have to do is tread water up until the Trade Deadline where Eppler can look for upgrades to improve the team at that time.

By increasing our overall production and hopefully being healthy to start the year, the Angels will be better positioned to compete in an American League West that appears to be heading towards greater parity among the five teams in the Division. Houston will be a tough nut to crack but the Athletics also performed well and project to do so again in 2020. The Rangers have a new media deal and are flush with cash so there may be unexpected fireworks from Texas, too. Even the Mariners are starting to pick up steam towards contention. All of this is contributing to a much more level playing field, if not this year, by the 2021-2022 time frame. Greater parity likely means that less overall wins (think 90 wins or so) are needed to claim the A.L. West Division crown.

No matter what, Angels fans should enjoy their ride on the Mike Trout express for the next few years because that freight train is leaving the station on its journey to the playoffs!

As a parting thought, the table below summarizes the last three years of Mike Trout hitting baseballs: