Los Angeles Angels GM Puts Former Washington Nationals Star on Notice
In 2019, Washington Nationals star Anthony Rendon put up the best season of his career. He played in 135 or more games for the fourth time in as many years, and for the fifth time in six years, and helped the Nationals win the first World Series Championship in franchise history.
That offseason, Rendon entered free agency, eventually signing a seven-year, $245 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.
It was supposed to be the makings of another super-team in California, with Rendon, Mike Trout, and Shohei Ohtani. The thought was the three would combined for an offensive onslaught.
Four years later, Ohtani left in free agency to join the Los Angeles Dodgers and won his first career World Series Championship last month. Trout and Rendon have consistently been injured.
The difference between Trout and Rendon is that when Trout is healthy, he's produced Trout-like numbers. Rendon has failed to be productive when healthy.
It has reached the point that Angels general manager Perry Minasian talked about the former star on the Foul Territory podcast this week, seemingly putting the third baseman on notice.
"He's gonna have to come in and show us he can still play and earn the right to play every day," said Minasian. "Are we a better team with Anthony Rendon on the field? Absolutely. Do we need a healthy Anthony Rendon that is that dynamic hitter in the box and one of the highest aptitudes as far as feel for the game playing today? Yes. We need it. He’s well aware of that."
.@Angels GM Perry Minasian on Anthony Rendon:
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) November 11, 2024
"He's gonna have to come in and show us he can still play and earn the right to play every day." pic.twitter.com/sIqkiwPypN
Rendon's season-high for games played since signing with Los Angeles is 58, which was in 2021. He has played in 257 games out of a possible 708 games across five seasons with the Angels for a games played rate of 36 percent, worse than Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton.
The Angels' signing of Rendon can be put under the category of "recency bias." The third baseman was a "good" player during his tenure with Washington, but he played well above his head in 2019. Rendon hit to a slash line of .319/.412/.598 with 34 home runs, 126 RBI, and a 157 OPS+, career-highs in every listed metric.
In the six years prior to 2019, the third baseman combined to slash .285/.361/.469 with 102 home runs, 420 RBI, and a 120 OPS+. That 2019 helped land Rendon a contract much greater than a player of his caliber was deserving of and Los Angeles has paid the price — literally and figuratively.
