Justin Upton, Angels Agree to 5-Year Contract Through 2022

The Los Angeles Angels and outfielder Justin Upton reached an agreement Thursday on a five-year contract extension to keep the slugger with the Halos through the 2022 MLB season.  

L.A. officially announced the new deal on social media. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the overall value of the contact is $106 million.

Upton was traded to the Angels from the Detroit Tigers in August. He finished the year with a .273/.361/.540 triple-slash line and a career-high 35 home runs across 152 games between the two teams. His .901 OPS also set a new career-best mark in that category.

The 30-year-old Virginia native was the first overall pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2005 draft, but he has struggled to find a consistent home despite plenty of success. He owns a .348 OBP with 256 homers in 1,489 appearances with the Angels, Tigers, D-Backs, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres.

Now Upton, who's earned four All-Star Game selections and two Silver Slugger Awards, should be locked into the Los Angeles lineup for the foreseeable future.

In September, when Upton was asked about his potential foray into free agency by utilizing a player option in his previous contract, he provided a simple response about the key factor.

"Winning," he told reporters. "Winning."

The Angels finished the 2017 campaign with an 80-82 record, which ranked second in the AL West behind the World Series champion Houston Astros. They fell five games short of the final wild-card spot, though it might have been a different story had Mike Trout not been limited to 114 games because of injuries. 

Ensuring Upton remained in the fold is an early offseason victory for L.A. Now the front office must focus on upgrading an offense that lacked high-end firepower outside of him and Trout.