Anthony Rendon and Los Angeles Angels Reach Agreement on 7-year $245 Million Contract

Introduction

Anthony Rendon just won the World Series with the Washington Nationals, and heading into the MLB offseason, he was the most sought-after position player free agent on the market. This superstar third baseman was looking to get paid long term. The only problem for the team hailing from our nation’s capital is that they just shelled out $245,000,000 for Stephen Strasburg’s 7-year deal earlier this week.

They would have loved to retain Rendon, but they simply just could not afford it. In fact, Washington offered him a 7-year deal for somewhere between $210,000,000 and $215,000,000 last fall, and Anthony turned it down to test the waters of free agency in hopes of more money.

New Agreement with the Los Angeles Angels

The Angels made it clear that they were looking to spend big money this offseason in order to build up their roster for their newly acquired manager, Joe Maddon. They attempted to lure the hometown So Cal guy in starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, but he took an astronomical deal with the New York Yankees (9 year / $324,000,000). So, Rendon was the next best option, and in my opinion a much better deal economically. I know the Washington Nationals will miss him in their line up on a daily basis.

LA signed Rendon to a 7-year contract valued at $245,000,000. This contract is backloaded so that his annual salary will increase each year over the first four years. The agreement averages $35,000,000 annually. Rendon is scheduled to be a MLB free agent next in 2027. This contract with the Angels includes a full no trade clause, and is loaded with incentives. If Rendon wins World Series MVP, he will earn an additional $250,000. If he is ALCS MVP he will make an extra $150,000. If he is an All Star starter there is a $125,000 and All Star reserve get him a cool $100,000.

My Projected 2020 Angels Batting Lineup:

M. Joe Maddon
2B Tommy La Stella
LF Justin Upton
CF Mike Trout
3B Anthony Rendon
1B Albert Pujols
DH Shohei Ohtani
RF Brian Goodwin
SS Andrelton Simmons
C Max Stassi

The New Look Los Angeles Angels

Now with the addition of Rendon, the Angels have a scary line up for opposing teams to have to pitch against. They have the best player in all of Major League Baseball in Mike Trout, and although Albert Pujols is at the tail end of his career he can still rake. Shohei Ohtani is an amazing Japanese player that can both hit for power as well as pitch a great game.

It should be interesting to see how the Los Angeles Angels will stack up in the American League now especially with the leadership and guidance of their manager Joe Maddon. He has taking the Tampa Bay Rays low payroll team to a World Series as well as winning the World Series with the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs had not won the World Series since 1908 until Maddon got them to the promise land in 2016.

Rendon's Career Regular Season Statistics

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
2013	23	WSN	NL	98	394	351	40	93	23	1	7	35	1	1	31	69	0.265	0.329	0.396	0.725	98	139	7	5	2	5	3	45/6
2014	24	WSN	NL	153	683	613	111	176	39	6	21	83	17	3	58	104	0.287	0.351	0.473	0.824	125	290	11	5	2	5	2	*54	MVP-5,SS
2015	25	WSN	NL	80	355	311	43	82	16	0	5	25	1	2	36	70	0.264	0.344	0.363	0.707	93	113	8	4	0	4	0	45
2016	26	WSN	NL	156	647	567	91	153	38	2	20	85	12	6	65	117	0.27	0.348	0.45	0.797	108	255	5	7	0	8	2	*5
2017	27	WSN	NL	147	605	508	81	153	41	1	25	100	7	2	84	82	0.301	0.403	0.533	0.937	139	271	7	7	0	6	6	*5	MVP-6
2018	28	WSN	NL	136	597	529	88	163	44	2	24	92	2	1	55	82	0.308	0.374	0.535	0.909	137	283	5	5	0	8	5	*5	MVP-11
2019	29	WSN	NL	146	646	545	117	174	44	3	34	126	5	1	80	86	0.319	0.412	0.598	1.01	153	326	13	12	0	9	8	*5/4	AS,MVP-3,SS
7 Yrs				916	3927	3424	571	994	245	15	136	546	45	16	409	610	0.29	0.369	0.49	0.859	126	1677	56	45	4	45	26
162 Game Avg.				162	695	606	101	176	43	3	24	97	8	3	72	108	0.29	0.369	0.49	0.859	126	297	10	8	1	8	5

Career Postseason Statistics

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Series	Opp	Rslt	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	WPA
2014	24	WSN	NL	NLDS	SFG	L	4	20	19	0	7	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	2	0.368	0.4	0.368	0.768	7	0	0	0	0	0	-0.03

2016	26	WSN	NL	NLDS	LAD	L	5	21	20	1	3	0	0	1	4	0	0	1	6	0.15	0.19	0.3	0.49	6	0	0	0	0	0	-0.39
2017	27	WSN	NL	NLDS	CHC	L	5	22	17	4	3	1	0	1	1	0	0	5	1	0.176	0.364	0.412	0.775	7	0	0	0	0	1	0.13

2019	29	WSN	NL	NLWC	MIL	W	1	4	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0.25	0	0.25	0	0	0	0	0	0	-0.01
2019	29	WSN	NL	NLDS	LAD	W	5	22	17	5	7	3	0	1	5	0	0	3	3	0.412	0.455	0.765	1.219	13	0	0	0	2	0	0.59
2019	29	WSN	NL	NLCS	STL	W	4	17	12	2	5	1	0	0	2	0	0	4	3	0.417	0.529	0.5	1.029	6	0	0	0	1	2	0.11
2019	29	WSN	NL	WS	HOU	W	7	32	29	3	8	3	0	2	8	0	0	3	3	0.276	0.344	0.586	0.93	17	0	0	0	0	0	0.2
4 Yrs (7 Series)							31	138	117	16	33	8	0	5	21	1	0	18	19	0.282	0.37	0.479	0.848	56	0	0	0	3	3	0.61
1 NLWC							1	4	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0.25	0	0.25	0	0	0	0	0	0	-0.01
4 NLDS							19	85	73	10	20	4	0	3	11	1	0	10	12	0.274	0.353	0.452	0.805	33	0	0	0	2	1	0.3
1 NLCS							4	17	12	2	5	1	0	0	2	0	0	4	3	0.417	0.529	0.5	1.029	6	0	0	0	1	2	0.11
1 WS							7	32	29	3	8	3	0	2	8	0	0	3	3	0.276	0.344	0.586	0.93	17	0	0	0	0	0	0.2

Media Statements

“There are a number of teams that we’re talking with about Anthony and negotiations are current and active,” Rendon’s agent Scott Boras said. “There’s been numerous offers made by many teams and Anthony’s just kind of evaluating it. We’re in the process of going back and forth with a lot of clubs.”

"We're not going to stop until we get a definitive decision from Anthony," Mike Rizzo explained last summer. "It's all about getting to the right terms and the right numbers. He's near and dear to my heart...and there's a deal to be had if both parties can come to an agreement."

"If [an extension] happens, it happens, if it doesn't it doesn't," Rendon expressed before making his decision.

"When we see opportunities we usually jump on them and take them," Rizzo clarified."We're aggressive by nature. I don't think it changes us a whole lot."

"We're within some structure of a budget and a payroll forecast that you relatively want to be near, and then we just take those opportunities to Arte and see if he'll grant us the permission to do those things,'' the Los Angeles Angels general manager Billy Eppler stated just prior to the Rendon signing. "There's good players out there, and players that warrant some sizable contracts. I know the players that he likes."

“We’ve had conversations about Anthony throughout the process,” Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo replied to the press.

“I don’t get my daily update from Scott [Boras], but I don’t sense anything is imminent at this point, but that was a while ago, so you never know.”

“I think we’re in a good spot,” says Rizzo.

“We’ve been extremely busy this Winter Meetings, and I think we’ve set up a lot of different options and a lot of different avenues.

“We might not necessarily complete another deal in the next day or so, but we feel that we’re in position to improve our roster in a rather quick manner after the Meetings.”

"If Anthony Rendon and Scott Boras don't know that we respect him by now," Rizzo exclaimed, "then they'll never know."

Sources:

“Anthony Rendon”, baseball-reference.com, December 14, 2019.

“Anthony Rendon reportedly agrees to seven-year, $245 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels: The Washington Nationals are going into 2020 without one of the key pieces of their World Series run as Anthony Rendon agrees to sign with the Los Angeles Angels...”, Blake Finney, federalbaseball.com, December 11, 2019.

“Anthony Rendon agrees to 7-year, $245M deal with Angels”, espn.com, December 11, 2019.

“Mike Rizzo speaks out on Anthony Rendon's contract negotiations, wants to keep him in D.C.”, Paige Leckie, nbcsports.com, July 2, 2019.

“Scott Boras: Anthony Rendon has received ‘numerous’ seven-year offers”, Matt Weyrich, nbcsports.com, December 10, 2019.

Written by: David Green