The Los Angeles Angels and third baseman Anthony Rendón are in talks to terminate the final year of his contract, a move that could end a disappointing tenure for the team. The news, revealed by sources close to the situation, suggests that a solution is being sought for the seven-year, $245 million contract that did not meet expectations.
Rendon, who spent the entire 2025 season recovering from hip surgery, is expected to retire. At 35 years old, he still has $38 million pending for 2026. Although the details of the termination are not finalized, it is anticipated that Rendon could defer part of that money, which would give the team greater financial flexibility for the offseason.Anthony Rendón podría retirarse si llega a un acuerdo con los Angels para rescindir su contrato.The Los Angeles Angels made Rendón the highest-paid third baseman in December 2019, after seeing him shine with the Washington Nationals, World Series champions at the time. If the termination is finalized, Rendón will have played in only a quarter of the Angels’ games during the term of his contract.
Selected in the first round of the draft in 2011, Rendón established himself as one of the best all-around players in the game in Washington. He was an exceptional hitter and a talented defender, and from 2016 to 2019, only nine position players accumulated more fWAR.
In that four-year period, Rendón had a batting average of .299/.384/.528. In his last season with the Nationals, he finished third in the National League MVP voting, with an OPS of 1.010, 34 home runs and 126 RBIs, leading the league.
Rendon’s lack of interest in baseball, which he publicly admitted, became part of his personality. Over the years, this translated into a lack of productivity on the field.
The 2020 season, interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, was the last in which the Angels saw the best Rendón. In the following four years, his batting average was .231/.329/.336, participating in 205 of 648 possible games. Injuries to the groin, knee, hamstrings, shin, oblique, lower back, wrists, and hips sent him to the injured list.
The final blow came on February 12, 2025, when the Angels announced that Rendón would undergo hip surgery and miss the season. He spent the entire season rehabilitating near his home in Houston. His last home run with the team was on July 1, 2023. He never played in more than 58 games in a season.
Rendon’s expensive contract coincided with a series of Mike Trout injuries. The absence of these two players, the team’s highest paid, added to the lack of depth in the roster, worsened the Angels’ situation, despite the emergence of Shohei Ohtani.
The Angels haven’t reached the playoffs since 2014 and haven’t won a playoff game since 2009. The 2025 season marked their tenth consecutive season with a sub-.500 record. Kurt Suzuki, Rendón’s teammate on the 2019 Nationals, was named manager of the Angels, the sixth in eight years.
Soon, they will be able to advance to third base.
