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Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Angels need to move on from Anthony Rendon

By David Hill | Last updated 2/20/24

Anthony Rendon made sense for the Los Angeles Angels.

Rendon was coming off an impressive 2019 season with the Nationals. He posted a .319/.412/.598 batting line in his 646 plate appearances, belting 34 homers and 44 doubles while driving in a major league-leading 126 runs.

He made his second All-Star team, finished third in the NL MVP vote and won a Silver Slugger. His seven-year, $245 million contract theoretically gave the Angels a formidable trio with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.

Reality has not matched the Angels' dreams. Rendon had a strong first season in the pandemic-shortened 2020 but has fallen apart since.

Injuries have held him to a total of 148 games over the last three seasons. He had produced a .235/.338/.364 batting line in his 625 plate appearances, hitting 13 homers and 29 doubles. His lack of production led one writer to call his contract the worst in baseball history.

Rendon has not endeared himself to Angels fans in that time either. There have been questions about how injured he has been in that time and his desire to get on the diamond.

Sam Blum of The Athletic called out Rendon for unprofessional behavior last year, referring to locker room statements he did not disclose.

“I don’t want to even get into the stuff he was telling us yesterday in front of his locker. I’m not even gonna repeat some of the stuff” -@SamBlum3 on Anthony Rendon.

I’m so over Anthony Rendon, and I think almost every Angels fan is.https://t.co/zP8bS1T8C3 pic.twitter.com/Ie3WxDT5qy
— BTH (@BeyondTheHalo) August 25, 2023

Questions about Rendon's commitment and desire got worse on Monday.

In an exchange with Blum, Rendon stated that playing baseball has "never been a top priority" to him, calling it "a job."

Rendon sidestepped whether or not he wanted to be playing with the Angels, saying he answered the question already.

Anthony Rendon on playing pro baseball:

"It’s never been a top priority for me. This is a job. I do this to make a living. My faith, my family come first before this job. So if those things come before it, I’m leaving."

Here's the full exchange: pic.twitter.com/xtgaywzNx9
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) February 19, 2024

The Angels are stuck with Rendon for the next three years. He is due approximately $115.7 million, has a no-trade clause and does not have any opt-out clauses.

Even if he did, Rendon would never get close to that sort of salary in free agency. He will continue to be part of the roster, occasionally getting on the diamond with his disappointing production.

The Angels have one option. They can choose to release Rendon, removing him from the roster entirely. While the Angels would be on the hook for his remaining salary, it is already a sunk cost. Such a move would be addition by subtraction, removing someone who does not want to be there.

Afterward, maybe the Angels can find their way back to contention by removing that influence from the clubhouse. It is time to move on.

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