If Mike Trout hadn’t signed his six-year, $144.5MM extension with the Angels in March 2014, the superstar outfielder would’ve been a free agent this offseason. As CBSSports.com’s Mike Axisa writes, this would have led to the single biggest contract in sports history, let alone baseball history. Trout just turned 26 last August, and thus a long-term deal would’ve easily topped Giancarlo Stanton’s record 13-year, $325MM record pact with the Marlins. Axisa figures a Trout free agent deal would’ve landed well north of $500MM, with even a potential of $600MM in total earnings (in the event of a 14-year deal with bonuses and a buyout of an option year) if Trout didn’t exercise any of what probably would’ve been multiple opt-out clauses. The scenario makes for a fun “what-if” read for baseball fans, and certainly a sigh of relief for Angels fans in particular.

Here’s more from around the AL West…