Anthony Rendon’s time with the Angels is effectively over. According to The Athletic, the team’s restructuring his contract and deferring the $38 million he’s owed for 2026. At 35, Rendon’s career is likely done after playing just 257 games over five seasons in Anaheim.
“The Angels will pay out that money over the next three to five years, freeing up significant cash for the team to pursue high-profile free agents in 2026,” The Athletic’s Sam Blum wrote.
Back in December 2019, this ending seemed impossible.
What the Angels Thought They Were Getting
When the Angels signed Rendon to that seven-year, $245 million deal, they weren’t taking a flyer on potential. They were buying one of baseball’s most complete players at 29 years old.
Rendon was coming off a monster 2019 season with Washington. He hit .319 with a 1.010 OPS, played elite defense at third base, and finished third in NL MVP voting. Oh, and he capped it off with a World Series ring.
This wasn’t projection. This was a finished product.
Rendon had been remarkably durable in Washington too. He appeared in at least 136 games in four of his final five seasons there. The Angels thought they were adding stability to a lineup built around Mike Trout. That belief made perfect sense at the time.
Then everything fell apart.
When Bodies Betray
Rendon’s played just 200 games over the last four seasons combined. Hip surgery, wrist issues, knee inflammation, hamstring strains, back problems – the list keeps growing. None of them alone explained the decline, but together they erased any chance at continuity.
The injuries did more than just keep him off the field. They prevented him from ever finding his rhythm. Rendon rarely had time to get right before something else went wrong. The player who once controlled at-bats with surgical precision never had a chance to reestablish himself.
As the absences mounted, a different narrative started taking hold.
Rendon’s blunt comments about baseball – he’s never hidden that it’s a job to him, not a passion – got seized upon as evidence that he didn’t care enough. That label stuck, especially when the production never followed.
But Rendon’s always been wired differently. Even at his peak in Washington, he was understated, uncomfortable with attention, allergic to hype. That’s just who he is.
The End of the Line
Now the Angels are moving on, restructuring the deal to spread out that $38 million over three to five years. Rendon isn’t officially retiring yet, but it’s hard to see another team taking a chance at this point.
The whole thing’s a reminder of how quickly things can change in baseball. Five years ago, Rendon was one of the game’s premier players. The Angels thought they were getting their missing piece alongside Trout.
Instead, they got one of the most disappointing contracts in recent memory.
It wasn’t supposed to go this way. But sometimes, no matter how smart the plan looks on paper, bodies just break down.
Rendon was great once. Then his body failed him.
That’s baseball.
