Washington Nationals Made Right Decision To Move On From Former Star Player
Just over five years ago, and only in the franchise's 15th season of existence, the Washington Nationals brought home their first World Series trophy.
That winter, the club made the decision to re-sign superstar starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg to a seven-year, $245 million contract, something the team is still on the hook for despite the pitcher having to retire far too early in his career.
While no one questioned the decision to bring Strasburg back on a long-term deal, many questioned the decision to not re-sign star third baseman Anthony Rendon. The veteran inked a seven-year, $245 million contract of his own with the Los Angeles Angels.
Now, after five years have come and gone, the baseball ball world can look back on that decision and see it was the right one to make.
While the Nationals have had their fair share of trouble finding a reliable third baseman since Rendon departed in free agency, the Angels have had an even worse time.
Washington has used 19 different players to man the hot corner. Los Angeles's total is pushing 30.
Fans had every right to question the decision at the time, as Rendon was coming off four consecutive seasons with an OPS+ of 135 or better. In fact, with the Nationals, he batted .290/.369/.490 with 136 home runs, 546 RBI, and a 126 OPS+ across 3,927 plate appearances in 916 games.
No one expected the bottom to fall out like it has for the former superstar, and since joining the Angels, Rendon has played in only 257 games across five years. He has openly remarked the MLB season should be shortened despite averaging only 51 games per year with his new club.
Los Angeles has now seemingly pushed the veteran out of the lineup with the addition of third baseman Yoan Moncada through free agency, though Rendon would more than likely be out of the lineup and on the injured list regardless.
Even when Rendon has been on the field, he has not come close to the peak of his career that he reached in those final years with Washington. With the Angels, Rendon has only batted .242/.348/.369 with 22 home runs, 125 RBI, and a 100 OPS+ across 1,095 plate appearances.
It is not the first albatross of a contract that Los Angeles has had to work around, with Albert Pujols' deal coming to mind, and if Mike Trout continues to spend more time on the injured list than on the field, his too.
The Angels will be paying Rendon $77 million split evenly over the next two years, and in the meantime, the Nationals will be thankful that they are not.
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Troy Brock is an up and comer in the sports journalism landscape. After starting on Medium, he quickly made his way to online publications Last Word on Sports and Athlon before bringing his work to the esteemed Sports Illustrated. You can find Troy on Twitter/X @TroyBBaseball