Earlier this week, David Schoenfield considered 10 possible explanations for baseball's extremely slow offseason. Tucked into one of the 10 was a reminder that Mike Trout would have been a free agent this winter, except he signed a six-year, $144.5 million extension back in March 2014.
Which got me wondering: Is it possible that this entire winter -- and the 10 possible explanations for its dawdling -- would have turned out completely differently but for one decision one player made three-and-a-half years ago?
Let's see:
1. The Angels, five games and six teams back of the second wild-card spot, make Trout available at the 2017 trade deadline.