The Los Angeles Angels rarely make gutsy additions in free agency, but the organization made an exception when it came to superstar Anthony Rendon a couple of years ago.
Rendon became a free agent following the 2019 season, and the Angels did everything in their power to bring him in.
They were ultimately successful.
It took a seven-year deal worth $245 million to get the job done.
Despite the not-so-team-friendly nature of the contract, Rendon looked like a great addition at the time.
Fans rejoiced.
But unfortunately, his tenure with the Angels has not met expectations.
Rendon’s time with the team got off to a promising start in 2020, but the 2021 season has been a different story.
Let’s evaluate his stint with L.A. so far.
His Success In 2020 Came Over A Small Sample Size
The 2020 season was Rendon’s first with the Angels.
By almost every measure, it was an impressive campaign.
He batted .286 with a .914 OPS and an outstanding 147 OPS+.
His value statistics were solid, and he even finished 10th in the American League MVP race.
But let’s keep something in mind: It was a 60-game season.
Rendon appeared in 52 games in total, so it’s hard to put a lot of stock into what was essentially a two-month sprint.
The 2020 season definitely counts, but the shortened slate made it a lot easier for players to get hot and stay hot.
Take Jose Iglesias as an example.
A career .273 hitter, he played in 39 games in 2020 and managed an absurd batting average of .373.
That’s pretty wild.
Point is, the 2020 season probably isn’t the best data point when evaluating players.
Now That The Sample Size Is Growing, Rendon Is Regressing
As you’ve probably gathered, Rendon’s 2021 season has been wildly underwhelming, and things got even worse earlier this week when it was announced that he was undergoing season-ending hip surgery.
Anthony Rendon will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a right hip impingement pic.twitter.com/C4zIPUMbLG
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 4, 2021
Now that his year is done, we can evaluate it in full.
He finishes with a .240 batting average, .712 OPS, 92 OPS+, and -0.1 WAR over 58 games.
Those numbers are really hard to stomach when you consider the fact that his salary for this season levels out to about $28 million.
Needless to say, this is not what L.A. had in mind when signing him to the massive deal.
His Slump Has Carried Into His Defensive Play
Rendon is typically a great defensive infielder.
Excluding his rookie campaign, he has finished every year of his MLB career with a positive defensive WAR.
That’s going to change once the current season concludes, as he has a -0.4 defensive WAR in 2021 and won’t play another game this year.
He is also going to finish the year with -6 Defensive Runs Saved, which is a metric that a lot of fans believe is the best all-around measure of a player’s defensive production.
For Rendon, not a whole lot has gone right this year.
Tough year for Anthony Rendon, who is now out for the year with hip surgery. He is in the second year of a 7-year, $245 million contract with the #Angels.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 4, 2021
When he’s at his best, he is one of the best players in the league, and there’s no denying that.
Let’s hope he bounces back in 2022 and plays like the five-time MVP vote-getter that he is.
