Bryce Harper and Manny Machado dominated the baseball talk this past winter. As the class of the free-agent class, they clearly were the primary topics of conversation. Spring training began, and they were still hot topics, maybe even hotter, because they remained unsigned.

Finally, on Feb. 21, Machado’s agent, Dan Lozano, reached agreement with the San Diego Padres on a 10-year $300 million contract.

It came as no surprise that Harper would sign after Machado.

Harper’s agent is Scott Boras, and there was no way Boras was going to let Harper sign first and risk having Machado get a more lucrative contract. There were two reasons for that. Boras, whose negotiating strategy always includes drawn-out talks, has an ego that wouldn’t allow that development. In addition, Boras had previously been Machado’s agent, and the third baseman abandoned him for Lozano.

So a week after Machado signed with the Padres, Harper agreed to a $330 million deal with the Phillies. Machado’s contract average of $30 million a year is higher than Harper’s $25,384,615, but Boras operates on the basis of total value, both for ego and for his fee. Agents are paid on the basis of the total contract, not its average annual value.

On March 20, though, Craig Landis, Mike Trout’s agent, wiped out both Boras and Lozano.

Trout, a remarkably consistent outstanding hitter, was under contract and could not be a free agent for two more seasons, but the Angels wanted to extend his contract, just as they did five years earlier, on March 28, 2014. The Angels seem to work on the premise of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Trout has certainly worked for the Angels, and they wanted to make sure he continued working for them and no one else. A 12-year contract extension worth $426.5 million resulted, giving the Millville, N.J., resident the richest baseball contract in history.

The contract has an average annual value of $35,541,000 and if the existing two years were not counted, the average would rise to an even $36 million for 10 years. Take that, messrs Boras and Lozano.

The Angels now have the problem of winning before the 27-year-old center fielder grows too old to help them win. In his seven full seasons in the majors, the Angels have reached the post-season only once, in 2014, and that appearance was short lived, three games against Kansas City and out.

Trout nevertheless was voted the American League most valuable player that season and again in 2016. He was runner-up for the award in 2012, 2013 and last year as voters seemed to confuse “most valuable” with “best.” There is a difference, but newer voters among the baseball writers don’t seem to grasp that concept.

That view is not intended to downgrade Trout. He is the best player, not just in the American League but also in the majors. He is displaying that reality again this season in comparison with Harper and Machado. Not only is he outearning them, but he is also outhitting them.

Here is how Trout, Harper and Machado have hit – or not hit – this season through Friday’s games. Note that Trout leads the three players in all categories except runs batted in. The ‘T’ indicates a tie in their places among all major league batters:

GROUNDBREAKING SPORTS EDITOR DIES

A former sports editor of The New York Times died recently, and her status as the first woman to run a major metropolitan newspaper’s sports section isn’t the only good thing I can say about Le Anne Schreiber. I liked her and don’t recall anything I didn’t like. I can’t make that same statement about recent Times sports editors who have destroyed the sports section.

Le Anne was not a sports expert so she appreciated the reporters who produced news. What a strange concept these days.

If I recall correctly, Schreiber was hired around the time the Times was under assault by its female employees, who filed a class action lawsuit alleging discrimination.

Schreiber, who died of lung cancer at the age of 73, stayed in the job for only two years (1978-79) at her decision, but she was on the job long enough to offer an observation that was probably the most complimentary thing any editor has ever said to me.

Referring to Neil Amdur, who covered track and tennis and later became the Times sports editor, she said, “Politicians in Washington are lucky you and Neil don’t cover politics. If you did, they would be in trouble.”