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Angels’ Mike Trout Inching Closer to Unexpected $50,000 Reward
David Banks-Imagn Images

One would understandably believe that Los Angeles Angels great Mike Trout would be satisfied with his $37.1 million salary for 2025. 

In fairness to Trout, he's probably more than thrilled with his latest massive payday. However, that isn't stopping the three-time AL MVP from chasing some extra bucks in his latest All-Star Game push.

Trout's 12-year, $426.5 million contract extension gives him a $50,000 bonus for winning All-Star Game MVP. Luckily for Trout, he currently ranks fourth among AL outfielders in All-Star voting. 

Major League Baseball announced on Monday that Trout had 889,474 votes, well ahead of Cleveland's Steven Kwan (810,746) and the New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger (712,153). 

The top six outfielders advance to Phase 2, which begins June 30. However, the AL will likely only include four outfield finalists because the Yankees' Aaron Judge is guaranteed a starting spot if he leads the league in voting; indeed, Judge leads all players with nearly 2.7 million votes.

Trout is already a two-time All-Star Game MVP, so we certainly wouldn't be shocked to see him do it again. The nine-time Silver Slugger entered Wednesday hitting .225 with 12 home runs, 28 RBIs, and a .769 OPS. 

Although Trout is still a home run threat, he's only tallied two doubles in 221 plate appearances. His .439 slugging percentage looks acceptable at first glance—and it's well above the league average of .399—until you remember that Trout averaged a .587 slugging percentage from 2012-20 before injuries took their toll.

Whether or not the 33-year-old Trout deserves an All-Star selection is up for debate. At his current pace, though, don't be surprised to see him at Atlanta's Truist Park next month.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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