Mike Trout says he thinks Shohei Ohtani will become the first half-a-billion-dollar player in the major leagues.
Trout was asked by Dodgers star Mookie Betts on the On Base Podcast how much he thinks the two-way star could command in free agency this winter.
“I think he’s anywhere between five and six,” Trout said. “That’s a lot of Ms. That’s a lot of Ms.”
Trout, a three-time MVP, has had a great view of Ohtani’s entire MLB career as a teammate on the Los Angeles Angels. This season, Ohtani leads the majors with 24 home runs and is sixth among all starting pitchers with 104 strikeouts.
Trout himself currently holds the MLB record for the largest contract after he signed a 12-year, $426.5-million deal ahead of the 2019 campaign.
“He’s special man, everybody sees it,” Trout said of Ohtani. “He puts the work in for sure, it’s pretty impressive.”
WBC Showdown
In the same interview, Betts asked Trout about his incredible at-bat against Ohtani in the ninth inning of the World Baseball Classic championship game. Trout stepped to the plate with two out in the ninth and his Team USA trailing Ohtani’s Team Japan 3-2. Trout worked the count full but Ohtani got him swinging for strike three to deliver the championship for Japan.
“What was I thinking? I was like, ‘I’m going to get a chance to get him here,'” Trout said of his mindset before that at-bat. “There was one thing on my mind, I was trying to take him deep.”
While his U.S. team came out on the losing end, Trout said he loved the WBC experience and plans to play again when the tournament returns in 2026.
“It was something different,” Trout said. “You want to be in big games like that, that’s why we play. We want moments like that.”