Things Anthony Rendon said off the field, like baseball not being a top priority for him or his desire to have the MLB regular season shortened (these are real quotes), made more headlines than anything the third baseman did in a Los Angeles Angels uniform. How that's possible for a player who signed a seven-year, $245 million deal is hard to comprehend, yet it's the reality.
Fortunately for Rendon, the Angels organization and its fans, the two sides are reportedly discussing a contract buyout per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez. Once that's finalized, Rendon is expected to retire. Rendon will likely give up a portion of the $38.5 million he's owed in 2026, but ultimately, he gets his wish of not having to prioritize baseball anymore.
Why did the Angels sign Anthony Rendon?
The Angels signed Rendon ahead of the 2020 season, hoping he'd do what he just did with the Washington Nationals: win a World Series. Rendon was one of, if not the best player on the 2019 Nationals World Series team, finishing third in the National League in MVP voting and dominating in October. He received one of the richest contracts in MLB history as a result. Pairing Rendon, a superstar in his prime, with the dynamic duo of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani sure seemed like a smart idea for an Angels team trying to get back to contention.
Rendon's performance in 2020 backed that up. The veteran appeared in 52 of the 60 games in the shortened season and had a .915 OPS. The Angels underperformed, but Rendon still finished 10th in the AL MVP balloting. From there, though, the Rendon experience was nothing short of disastrous.
From 2021 through 2024, Rendon slashed .231/.329/.336 with 13 home runs and 34 RBI in 205 games. That's right, Rendon appeared in 205 games over four seasons, an average of 51 games per season. When factoring in his zero games played in 2025 and 2026, Rendon will end up averaging just 34 games played in his final six seasons in Anaheim.
Even beyond the injuries, when Rendon was on the field, he was unproductive. His throwing was an issue at times defensively, and he totaled just 13 home runs in a 205-game span. For reference, Rendon hit nine home runs in 52 games in 2020. It would've been one thing for injuries to be the sole reason for Rendon's demise with the Angels, sort of like Mike Trout, but Rendon wasn't able to do anything when he was on the field.
Regrading Anthony Rendon's contract with the Angels
I thought this was a strong signing when it happened. I would've given it a grade of an A- or B+. Sure, the money was eye-opening, but Rendon was an MVP-caliber player in the middle of his prime. Adding this player to a team that already included Trout and Ohtani felt like a winning move.
With that being said, just about everything that could've gone wrong did for Rendon. Even the biggest skeptics of the deal couldn't have predicted this outcome. He did have a good first year, but every season after that was an utter disaster. Rendon didn't play in 60 games a single time, topped out at six home runs, and even found ways to frustrate Angels fans off the field. I mean, his biggest highlight as an Angel was probably when he hit a home run left-handed. As cool as that was, that being the biggest moment for a $245 million player is beyond frustrating.
At the end of the day, the final grade for this deal can't be anything other than an F. The Angels have given out their share of bad contracts, particularly in the Arte Moreno era, but none come close to this one. The Rendon deal is unequivocally one of, if not the worst in MLB history.
Final Anthony Rendon contract regrade: F
What is Anthony Rendon's legacy?
The answer to this question differs depending on who you are asking. If you're talking to a Nationals fan, Rendon is a hero who will always be remembered fondly. If you're talking to an Angels fan, Rendon is the worst player ever who shouldn't have ever worn an Angels uniform.
From an unbiased point of view, the answer should probably include the good and the bad. Rendon, in his prime, was one of the best players in the game. He received MVP votes five times in a seven-year stretch. He was a two-time Silver Slugger winner and a solid defender as well. Winning a World Series will help enhance anyone's legacy, too. Ultimately, there's a reason he got the contract he got. That wasn't the Angels being stupid; Rendon was deserving.
Unfortunately, though, Rendon's Angels tenure cannot be ignored. He was given all that money to be as good, if not better than he was in Washington. Not only did that not happen, but again, this will be looked at as one of the worst contracts in MLB history, if not sports history.
To give an idea of how badly this deal aged, Rendon has as many suspensions (2) as home runs since June of 2022. Rendon was suspended in 2022 for getting involved in a brawl with the Seattle Mariners despite already dealing with an injury, and he was suspended in 2023 for an off-field altercation with a fan.
Rendon went from a player who might've been Cooperstown-bound had he picked up where he left off with the Angels to a villain in Anaheim who will get booed if he shows up at an Angels game in the future.
To me, Rendon's legacy is just a huge "what if". He was an excellent player for a half-decade in Washington, but his Angels tenure just couldn't have gone any worse. If he could've stayed healthy, there's a good chance Rendon would've been seen in an entirely different light. Unfortunately, all we can do is wonder.