The Los Angeles Angels are staring Shohei Ohtani's upcoming free agency in the face, and Mike Trout indicated that he will pull every string to try to convince Ohtani to stay, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports.

“I'm going to do everything I can to keep Shohei here,” Mike Trout said, via Nightengale.

Trout signed a 12 year, $426.5 million contract with the Angels in March of 2019, which is the biggest contract in baseball when it comes to total money. The yearly salary comes out to about $35.5 million.

Shohei Ohtani's contract will almost certainly surpass Trout's in total money and yearly salary. The question for many is whether Ohtani's contract will reach $500 million overall. With Aaron Judge getting paid $40 million a year with the New York Yankees, and other players like Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander getting over $40 million a year with the New York Mets, it would be a shock if Ohtani does not pass that number as well.

The question is whether Ohtani is willing to consider east coast teams this time around, something he notoriously did not do when he initially came over from Japan. The Yankees were planning on going hard after Ohtani leading up to that free agency, but lost out because of being on the east coast.

This time around, Ohtani should have many bidders. There has been much talk about the Los Angeles Dodgers being involved this time around. With the universal DH in place, unlike when Ohtani initially came over, teams on one league do not have an advantage over the other. Are the Dodgers going to spend enough to get Ohtani?

The Mets with Steve Cohen are expected to be players. If Ohtani is willing to go to an east coast team, this could drive his price up significantly. We know that the Yankees really wanted Ohtani last time around, but are they willing to spend enough to be in contention?

Trout can do all that he wants, but the reality is that Angels owner Arte Moreno will have to put his money where his mouth is to keep Ohtani around.