The Athletic and Bleacher Report rank Angels' Mike Trout contract among MLB's worst

The media has certainly turned on Mike Trout. There is no ill-will towards the Angels' superstar, but the fact of the matter is he gets paid a lot of money, has succumb to a multitude of injuries, and baseball writers have to assess the worst contracts in MLB from time-to-time.

The latest outlets to tackle the worst deals in MLB: Bleacher Report and The Athletic. B/R's Joel Reuter described his process: "The deals were ranked based on remaining money owed, recent production and expected production going forward." The Athletic's Cody Stavenhagen's process was fairly similar. B/R seemed to criticize the totality of the production more, while The Athletic was more geared towards future value.

Reuter ranked Trout's original contract of 12 years, $426 million and remaining 6 years, $223.2 million as the worst in baseball. Stavenhagen ranked it 6th worst, but wrote that "there’s a real argument for Trout to be No. 1 on this list." Both alluded to him producing when he is on the field, but just not at the same level as fans are used to seeing.

Can Mike Trout silence the haters in 2025?

2025 is a "prove it" year for Trout. The pitchforks are already out for Trout until he proves he can stay on the baseball field for most of next season. Even if his productivity dips, his presence is truly all that is required by the media at this point. The organization, fans, and players will insist that his intimidation factor at the plate protects the rest of the lineup, even if he is a shell of his former self on the stat sheets. The team can easily galvanize around Trout as long as he is there.

All of the Angels' rampant activity this offseason will be for nothing if their superstar continues to watch from the dugout. The team revolves around his production, and he is a singularly talented player when healthy. Unfortunately, when players start to show signs of physical decline, it is incredibly rare for them to avoid getting off the Injured List carousel. What was once "can Mike Trout get some help?" has seemingly turned into "will Mike Trout help his team?"

By the way, The Athletic ranked Anthony Rendon's deal the worst in baseball, and B/R ranked in 10th.

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