Mike Trout calls reports of huge contract with Angels ‘pretty funny’
TEMPE, Ariz. — Mike Trout had not wanted to discuss his potential nine-figure payday other than to call the reports of a massive contract extension “pretty funny.”
What exactly did he find funny?
“The numbers they throw out,” Trout said Monday. “It’s crazy what people are saying, and throwing out numbers like that. I’m in a spot where I wouldn’t have thought I would be before my career was over.”
That spot is going to come with a pretty high number, right?
“No comment,” Trout said with a smile.
The Angels and Trout’s representatives have yet to reach agreement on the years or dollars in a new contract, although a report Sunday outlined a deal in the range of six years and $150 million. The Angels prefer a longer term; a six-year deal would buy out three years of free agency but still give Trout the ability to test the market at 29.
An announcement of a new deal could come before opening day. The Angels had been concerned that an extension that starts in 2015 could force them to pay a luxury tax this season, but they since have learned that would not be the case so long as Trout already is signed to a 2014 contract. That one-year contract must be signed by March 11, the end of baseball’s renewal window.
Manager Mike Scioscia said he has not spoken with Trout about the potential for contract talks distracting him. Scioscia said he has yet to notice anything in Trout’s demeanor to indicate the 22-year-old is distracted by the possibility of a mega-deal.
“He hasn’t flinched,” Scioscia said. “He’s very grounded. He has everything sorted out the way a young player has to have everything sorted out with his priorities.
“If nobody was paying attention to him, he’d be fine with it. If everybody was paying attention to him, he’d be fine with it.”
Renaissance man
Scioscia is renowned for his team bonding activities each spring. He assigned rookie C.J. Cron to lead a group of young players to the local Renaissance Faire, then report back to the rest of the team. This year’s festival featured a show called “The Wild Wacky Witty Washing Well Wenches.”
The laughs would have stayed in the clubhouse, except that pitcher Nick Maronde used Twitter to post a photo of Cron dressed in a medieval outfit — something akin to an oversized black gown.
“I wanted to do it as quickly as possible,” Cron said. “I picked the first thing that looked decent.”
The Angels selected Cron, 24, in the first round of the 2011 draft, one pick before the Oakland Athletics took pitcher Sonny Gray.
Gray is expected to be in the Oakland rotation. Cron’s batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average have fallen in each of his three pro seasons — he hit .274 with 14 home runs at double-A Arkansas last season — but the trade of Mark Trumbo left Cron the opportunity to fill a long-term opening for a first baseman or designated hitter.
“Any time the guy ahead of you gets traded, it’s an eye-opener,” Cron said. “But that doesn’t solidify anything. I’m not going to get a free ride.”
Twitter: @BillShaikin
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