Angels Coach Bo Porter Vouches For Anthony Rendon's Comeback Chances

Anthony Rendon looking for a comeback season in 2024.

In what might be his most important season yet with the Los Angeles Angels, newly acquired Angels first base coach Bo Porter explained why he believes third baseman Anthony Rendon will be ready to have a comeback player of the year performance for the Halos in 2024.

After signing a seven-year deal with the Angels that was worth up to $245 million, the Rendon era has not been great for both sides have hoped.

So far over his first four years with the Angels, Rendon has struggled to stay healthy. He has missed the majority of time over the last three seasons and has only appeared in 148 games throughout the period.

Rendon has also had other issues come to the spotlight, which include negative remarks or completely ignoring the media. He has also gotten into altercations with fans.

Anthony Rendon was ready to take on all 35 fans in Oakland last night! Cash the AL MVP tickets baby pic.twitter.com/tptB0qfMIH

— Max (@Maxairjordan1) March 31, 2023

However, due to the signing of new Angels manager Ron Washington, a new era of baseball is set to take place with the Halos. This includes an existing relationship between Rendon and Porter, as they were a part of the Washington Nationals organization in 2011 and 2012.

“We talked before I took the job. We’ve exchanged messages since I’ve taken the job. The beauty of this for me — when you’ve known someone as long as I’ve known Anthony, you know the core of the man. When I look at the last two years and all of the injuries and all the things he had to endure, the organization’s had to endure — I’ve been on record as saying I believe he’s going to be the comeback player of the year.”

Per Bo Porter via The Athletic

Having a comeback year would not only mean the world to Rendon, but it would possibly mean everything to the Angels front office. They have been hoping for him to return to form each season, but it hasn't come to fruition yet.

Although the Angels are a much better team with Rendon in the lineup, his productivity has declined over the last three years. He has yet to replicate his 2020 season with the Angels, where he slashed .286/.418/.598 while finishing with a 1.010 OPS, the best he's ever had in his career and a 2.5 WAR.

Despite the lack of productivity over the last three years, Porter still believes that Rendon is among the best in baseball.

“When Anthony Rendon is healthy, he’s one of the best players in all of baseball. His track record will prove that to you. It’s just very unfortunate that he hasn’t been healthy the last few years. For me, it’s all about keeping him upright and keeping him on the field. When he’s upright and on the field, we are a better ballclub because we have one of the premier third basemen in our lineup every day.”

Per Bo Porter via The Athletic