Mike Trout contract may be exactly what MLB wants to eliminate with latest CBA proposal

Major League Baseball is proposing new policies and rules as part of its new CBA proposal, and one concept would make contracts like the one the Los Angeles Angels gave to superstar Mike Trout completely obsolete.

Basically, the proposal would limit the maximum contract length to five years for a free agent going to a new team or six years if a player signs a deal to remain with the same team. 

So that 12-year, $426.5 million deal that the Angels gave to Trout back in 2019…yeah, that would not fly under this new proposed CBA.

Of course, that proposal is an absolute non-starter with the MLB Players Association. The MLBPA has said as much and has taken issue with pretty much every proposal MLB has made, whether it’s with regard to free agency, a salary cap, or changes to the draft process.

The two sides are still incredibly far apart, which is why many people are not optimistic that baseball will be played next season. At the very least, there's a general expectation that the 2027 season won't start on time.

Owners like Arte Moreno would love to avoid giving out Trout-like deals

The free agency proposal is interesting to say the least. Obviously, from the perspective of the owners, they’d love to commit less money to players over the course of a long-term deal. Even though Trout is a superstar who earned that contract based on his incredible career up to that point, he hasn’t exactly played up to it consistently since he inked that deal.

At least this season, he started to look more like the perennial All-Star that fans remember fondly, but his recent injury has reminded everyone that he’s in his thirties now and is not going to get any more durable as his career goes on.

Heck, maybe Angels owner Arte Moreno proposed the free agency idea personally. He doesn't want to be paying a player for over a decade and he probably found sympathetic ears in a lot of other owners across baseball who do not want to pay players mega-deals.

The MLBPA would never agree to all of the proposed free agency changes, but it’s clear that owners want to rein in free agency a bit so they don’t have to spend as much to field competitive teams. That’s their obvious motivation but players are going to fight it because it means less money being spent on them. At least Trout got his money before any sweeping changes will be made.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow