Anthony Rendon must be growing weary of the ongoing narrative that he is uninterested in playing baseball for the Los Angeles Angels. Although he has missed many games due to injury, which somewhat undermines that perception, his previous statements about his life priorities haven’t helped his image.
In February, Rendon stated, as reported by The Athletic, “This has never been a top priority for me. This is just a job I do to make a living. My faith and family come before this job. If those things come first, I will leave.”
That perspective is entirely reasonable and reflects how many of us approach our careers. While work is important, it isn’t everything; family and, in Rendon’s case, faith, take precedence. However, Angels fans were not pleased with Rendon’s comment, especially given his high salary and the expectation that he would complement Mike Trout’s performance. Anaheim has squandered much of Trout’s career and lost Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers this past winter.
Anthony Rendon injury forces Angels star out of action
In the shortened 2020 season, Rendon finished tenth in AL MVP voting during his first year with the Angels, playing in 52 games. Since then, he has not exceeded 60 games in any season and is approaching that mark in 2024. This year, in 41 games, Rendon has posted a .235/.312/.281 slash line, resulting in a .593 OPS, which is underwhelming.
It seems that every time Rendon is activated from the injured list, he ends up getting hurt again. This occurred once more late last week when he injured his elbow against the Atlanta Braves. Rendon was pulled from the game in the fourth inning with a bruised right elbow. Although he has avoided another stint on the injured list so far, he has not rejoined the lineup since.
Eric Cole of FanSided provided a sobering view of Rendon’s performance this season:
“Since July 8, he has appeared in 20 games (though he did get injured again during this period) and has posted a .213/.294/.267 slash line with only four extra-base hits. While his strikeout and walk rates have been decent, everything else has been poor, resulting in an WAR of -0.2. If the Angels had a league-average replacement, their situation would likely be better,” Cole wrote for Halo Hangout.
This is particularly concerning for a player who was signed by the Angels for $275 million in 2019. For Rendon’s sake, it’s hoped he can stay healthy and make a meaningful contribution as the season progresses. Otherwise, 2024 will add to the list of disappointments since his arrival in LA.
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