Cardinals players react to reports of Mike Trout's 12-year, $432 million deal

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Mike Trout is on the verge of becoming baseball's first half-billion dollar man.

Trout and the Los Angeles Angels are close to finalizing a $432 million, 12-year contract that would shatter the record for the largest deal in North American sports history, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

And it caught the attention of a few Cardinals players on social media.

The post by pitcher Jack Flaherty just about says it all. Lots and lots of cash: 

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— Jack Flaherty (@Jack9Flaherty) March 19, 2019

Fellow pitcher Austin Gomber followed it up with a few emojis of his own. That's a lot of bread, as in dough, as in cash.

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— Austin Gomber (@AustinGomber) March 19, 2019

The deal was disclosed Tuesday by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been finalized. The contract was likely to be announced by the end of this week, the person said.

Trout would set a baseball record for career earnings at about $513 million, surpassing the roughly $448 million Alex Rodriguez took in with Seattle, Texas and the New York Yankees from 1994-2017.

Trout's latest deal would top the new $330 million, 12-year contract between Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies, and Trout's $36 million average annual value would surpass pitcher Zack Greinke's $34.4 million in a six-year deal with Arizona that started in 2016. The contract also would best Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez's $356 million deal with sports-streaming service DAZN.

 RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer contributed to this report