Angels Plan to Continue Pulling Anthony Rendon Early During Initial Return Period

Are they being too careful with him?

Can you be too careful with a player coming off an injury? In the case of Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon, the team plans to lean on the cautious side of things as he slowly comes back from his injury. Rendon appeared in Monday's win over the Chicago Cubs, going 0-2 but the veteran did grab a walk in his limited time.

He was removed from the game in the sixth inning, not due to injury but because the team wants to ease him back in. 

“He’s doing great. He comes up and literally smokes one to right, like right out of bed because he hadn’t had an at-bat in three weeks. But for a little while, we’ll try to get him out if we’re up after around the sixth.”

Angels manager Phil Nevin on Rendon via 

MLB.com

Considering how much time that Rendon has missed over the last few seasons, it's hard not to understand the Angels thinking. His entire tenure with the Angels has been overwhelmed by injuries and his availability has been questionable at best.

But he is now healthy and ready to help this team try and get over the hump. He knows that he needs to stay healthy and maybe limiting him at first could be the thing that does just that.

The #Angels say Anthony Rendon was just taken out of the game as a defensive replacement with Gio Urshela taking over at third. No injury.

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 7, 2023

Los Angeles went 10-11 without Rendon in the lineup and they now have a playoff push to make. Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Rendon headline this team and with the three of them together, the sky very well could be the limit for the Angels.