LA Times: Mike Trout, Angels not talking deal

[Brandon]

Bobby Bonilla likes it.

Dude makes so much on interest. As dumb as a lot of athletes are, this was genius.

[WallyWorld]

Not Jerry Dipoto â€@LAAngels_GM1m

Hey @Trouty20, just buy a nice house next to Kobe in NB or CDM and settle down. You're ours til 2018 at least.

[ten ocho recon scout]

I for one would advocate storming the front office with pitchforks if there isn't any extension this year. This is the last year the Angels have real leverage with Trout. That leverage could be used on the negotiating table. However, that incentive will be gone once he begins to make 10+ million with arbritration.

Well of course YOU would advocate storming. Youre biased!

[YouthofToday]

If Trout forged a birth certificate saying he was actually 32 it might help convince the owner to give him a long-term deal.

[yk9001]

 

Not Jerry Dipoto â€@LAAngels_GM1m

Hey @Trouty20, just buy a nice house next to Kobe in NB or CDM and settle down. You're ours til 2018 at least.

 

 

It isn't funny but at least they spelled "you're" correctly.

[Jay]

I don't see any reason to discuss contract with Trout until the post season is underway.  Who knows, Dipoto and his team may not even be the ones discussing it if Arte makes changes to the front office.

 

Exactly, I expect the Dipoto/Scioscia thing to be resolved before they start contract negotiations with Trout.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

Complete non-story since the season hasn't ended.  Try during the offseason and if it's a no go they still have 4 years of club control over him.   

[kevinb]

Why would the Angels talk to Trout about a long term contract. It is not like this kid is the best player in baseball already. We should sign some 34 year old outfielder who can replace his numbers.

[HaloFan85]

Makes you wonder what the f*** were Jerry and Arte thinking when they added Hamilton to a payroll that already included the salaries of Pujols, Weaver, and Wilson, and just after the rookie season Trout had.

 

Hamilton and Pujols are immovable at this point.  Weaver and Wilson are part of the biggest area of need right now - pitching.  They'd have to move Howie, Aybar, and Iannetta after the season to have any chance at signing Trout long term this offseason.  Trumbo is going to be arb eligible but might make less than all three of those will next year, so they might hold onto him.  If Hamilton has a ridiculous 1st half in 2014, they can try to move him at the dealine since he'd only have 3 1/2 years left on his contract.  It's definitely going to take a crafty GM to fix this mess.

[CaliAngel]

Don't know why Trout would even be interested in staying with this team when we have an incompetent manager, a sub-.500 record, and almost a half a decade where we haven't seen one inning of postseason baseball.

[AngelsLakersFan]

 

Not Jerry Dipoto â€@LAAngels_GM1m

Hey @Trouty20, just buy a nice house next to Kobe in NB or CDM and settle down. You're ours til 2018 at least.

 

 

He can't afford one.

[AZMike]

Dude makes so much on interest. As dumb as a lot of athletes are, this was genius.

It would have been genius for the Mets had Madoff continued to pay them 10% a year every year without exception...

[Tyler]

Isn't Kobe's house in NB for sale?

[Troll Daddy]

Moreno needs to wait another year just to make sure this slump isn't permanent.

[Hollyw00d]

Well so far this organization has screwed up just about everything they can regarding trout, why not continue the trend so the fans can watch him bolt in a few years to some east coast team

[YouthofToday]

Moreno needs to wait another year just to make sure this slump isn't permanent.

Epic sarcastic post from the King of all Trolls. Well played sir, well played.

[Brent Maguire]

Moreno needs to wait another year just to make sure this slump isn't permanent.

[ten ocho recon scout]

All this speculation is retarded. Trout isn't going anywhere....for now. Its no different than any other player. They still own him for a few years. They WILL make him a very lucrative offer. That doesn't mean he takes it.

But I can guarantee the huge contracts we are sruck with won't impede that. It will all just come down to if trout wants to see if he can get better or not.

But, like all of you, I hope they blow him away this winter and everyone can relax.

[Hoops McCann]

Why would Trout want to sign a LT contract now? 

 

What benefit is there to him in doing that?  Unless his arb years are locked up at a good amount of money and his first few years of FA included.  Other than that, I think Trout tests free agency.  He is likely to maximize his salary by doing so and given the state of some FA deals the past few years, there isnt a doubt in my mind he and his agent will do so.

 

Luckily, at least, his agent isnt Scott Boras.  If he was, there is a 99.99% chance he tests free agency.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Good point hoops. But it all depends on if signing an extension now is more lucrative than his likely arbitration raises (assuming he makes 15ish in arb), and the guaranteed money (to insure against injury).

I think the key is locking him up until he's 30. That still allows him to sign a second mega contract, which in the end (combined with the extension) is likely to be worth more than signing one big one at 26 years old.

So lets say we lock him up this year for 250 million (for srgument sake). Then at 30 years old he signs a second 150 (again, for argument sake). That's still worth more than signing one big one (350 million) at 26 that has him likely hitting FA in his mid 30's, where he'll likely be declining.

Also, the sooner he starts making big money the better (for him). Bird in hand thing. He jumps from 8 a year next year (very conservative because I think he is a super 2 player, early arb) to lets say 15 a year (extension salary).

I think it helps him long term and short term. He can bank on getting blown away by the market in 4 years, or take what's likely to be similar money 4 years earlier.

[YouthofToday]

Trout is not a Super 2. He will likely make around $60 million in arbitration from 2015-2017.

I'm sure the player's union strongly wants him to go year to year in arbitration and completely incinerate all precedence -- opening up future ballplayers to pry more money from the billionaire owners.

[axalar]

What I've heard (yes, hearsay before anyone bashes it), is that when the Angels reached out about it, Trout's agent didn't want to talk long-term.

 

From the quote you can see he's not saying who has put off the subject.

[ten ocho recon scout]

What I've heard (yes, hearsay before anyone bashes it), is that when the Angels reached out about it, Trout's agent didn't want to talk long-term.

From the quote you can see he's not saying who has put off the subject.

I heard some talk (hearsay as well) that last winter the angels did in fact offer trout a much larger raise, but that trouts agent was adamant about it being a lot more. From what I understand his agent wouldnt budge. The angels in turn said screw it and raised him along the lines of how they usually do.

Again, it was just a rumor I heard. No clue at all how accurate it is. I will say though, how trouts agent went to the media to complain leads me to believe he's looking to fill his own pockets as much as trouts.

[eligrba]

Who would be negotiating for the Angels at this time?  Let's find out what happens to the brain trust before we worry about Trout.  Of course it is much more interesting to report the sky is falling than the truth.

[Jim]

Trout's Agent is worried he's going to be fired and replaced by some other Agent before he gets commission on Trout's big money contracts.

 

 

As was mentioned by some others, luxury tax is based on the average annual value of contracts of players on the team. Cash compensation paid in trades also counts against the luuxry tax. That means 2/3rds of Vernon Wells' salary coutns against the Angels for luxury tax purposes. The Angels are actually *just* under the tax cutoff.

 

Since there are serious penalties for going over multiple consecutive years, what will likely happen is they will sign Trout to a long contract after the 2014 season. That's when Vernon Wells money goes off the books. And in that case, they'd actually be better off signing him to a very long term (like 15 years) deal, with a huge lump sum paid in year one. Average annual value would be low but a huge payoff up front (like $40m or more )  would be hard to refuse compared to arbitration. 

This is the way I see it as well. I think Arte and Co will aggressively pursue Trout after the 2014 season. Whether or not Arte would see a 15 year deal come to be is yet to be seen, but I do believe the org will attempt to get a long term deal done then. If I were Arte, I would give him a nice little bump in salary this year. Nothing outrageous, just a little something to let him know how much he is appreciated.