Mike Trout is "not concerned" about contract negotiations, according to the Los Angeles Times' Mike DiGiovanna, but the Angels might be.
Mike Trout extension: Angels OF has not set a deadline for contract talks
At this point, Trout can pretty much ask for whatever he wants.
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
The team is probably relieved to hear that Trout has not set a deadline for the negotiation of an extension. The 22-year-old MVP candidate said he would not be opposed to negotiating the deal during the season.
“It doesn’t matter to me. Nothing bothers me. I go out there and play, man. I don’t worry about any of that stuff.”
He doesn’t have to. He’s going to get a record-setting deal. Estimates have ranged from a six-year, $150 million deal to an absurd, yet somehow more realistic, 10-year, $300 million deal.
The Angels have a lot of money tied up in long-term deals. In contracts for Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, C.J. Wilson, and Jered Weaver, the team has already spent nearly $100 million of their budget for 2015 and 2016.
That shouldn’t prevent them from signing Trout to an extension, but it could end up causing them to pay a considerable tax penalty in the future thanks to the league’s luxury tax.
Trout is hitting .444 this spring, and appears poised to make another run at the American League MVP Award in 2014.
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