Anthony Rendon and the Angels Restructure Contract, Marking the End of an Era
The Los Angeles Angels and Anthony Rendon have agreed to restructure the player’s contract, ending the problematic All-Star third baseman’s tenure with the team. Rendon, who was due to receive $38 million in 2026, the final year of his seven-year, $245 million contract, has agreed to spread those payments over several years. The details of this agreement have not been publicly disclosed. Conversations between Rendon and the Angels about restructuring the contract began at the start of the offseason, following a completely lost 2025 season due to hip surgery.Although Rendon, 35, is not expected to officially announce his retirement, he is not expected to play in 2026. Instead, he will continue his rehabilitation from his home in Houston, as he did during the 2025 season.
Rendon will continue to hold a spot on the Angels’ roster next season, although the team could simply place him on the 60-day injured list to free up space. Rendon, who became the highest-paid third baseman in baseball in December 2019, only participated in a quarter of the Angels’ games during the duration of his contract, accumulating a modest 3.7 fWAR (wins above replacement) according to FanGraphs. Selected in the first round of the 2011 draft, Rendon established himself as one of baseball’s best all-around players. 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, Rendon had a batting average of .299/.384/.528. In his last season with the Nationals, he finished third in the National League MVP voting, recording an OPS of 1.010, 34 home runs, and 126 RBIs, leading the league and starring in an outstanding postseason performance that culminated in the franchise’s first title. Rendon looked to be in good shape during the 2020 season, which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this was the last time the Angels experienced anything close to Rendon’s peak performance. In the following four years, his batting average was only .231/.329/.336, participating in 205 of a total of 648 possible games. Injuries to his left groin, left knee, left thigh, left shin, left oblique, lower back, both wrists, and both hips sent him to the injured list. The final blow came on February 12, 2025, when the Angels announced at the start of spring training that Rendon would undergo hip surgery and miss the season. Rendon spent the entire season away from the team, primarily 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 for Los Angeles. Rendon’s contract coincided with a series of similar injuries suffered by Mike Trout. The inactivity of these two players, the team’s highest paid, along with the lack of depth in the squad, only worsened the Angels’ situation despite the emergence of Shohei Ohtani as a two-way phenomenon. 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, Rendon’s teammate on the 2019 Nationals, was named manager of the Angels, the sixth in eight years.
