Anthony Rendon’s restructure will finally put an end to Los Angeles’ $245 million mistake

ESPN’s Alden González reported at the end of November that the two sides were working on some sort of buyout involving the final year and $38 million for the seven-year, $245 million contract Rendon signed after his monster 2019 season. It turned out to be a catastrophic misstep for the Halos — one of the least productive major signings in the history of the sport. Rendon played in just 257 games for Anaheim, slashing just .242/.348/.369 with 22 home runs in 1,095 at-bats. Of the 1,032 possible games he could have played with the Angels, Rendon will end up appearing in just under a quarter of them.

It’s easy to forget, but Rendon’s Angels tenure started off pretty well. He played in 52 of 60 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, hitting a robust .286/.418/.497 with nine home runs, 11 doubles, a triple and more walks (16.4%) than strikeouts (13.4%). It was exactly the kind of star-level performance the Angels were hoping for when they signed the reigning World Series MVP after a sensational run in Washington; from 2017-19, Rendon had slashed .310/.397/.556 with the Nationals.

From that moment on everything fell apart. Rendon’s 2021 season was cut short by hip surgery. His 2022 season ended early due to wrist surgery. He missed the entire 2025 season after a second hip surgery. Even in the 2023-2024 seasons, when he avoided any form of surgical intervention, Rendon was limited to just 90 games due to the combination of a broken tibia (suffered when he took a ball in the leg), a torn hamstring and an oblique strain.

As you might expect, Rendon’s production dropped as injuries piled up. After his stellar 2020 campaign, he played in just 202 games with the Angels, hitting .231/.329/.336 on poor defense. He was essentially a replacement-level player – and often injured at that. Rendon also courted controversy off the field in 2023, when he was captured on video grabbing an A’s fan by the shirt after being verbally abused as he left the field. Rendon cursed at the fan and lunged at him after letting go of his shirt. He was suspended for four games and fined by the league.

The Angels weren’t counting on Rendon to contribute in 2026 anyway, but restructuring and deferring his heavy $38 million salary gives the team some extra spending power this winter. Details about the nature of the deferment and how much — if anything — they will pay Rendon in 2026 are unclear. However, Blum suggests the Angels could use the newfound financial freedom to pursue a higher-profile free agent this winter. That doesn’t necessarily have to be at third base, but with Alex Bregman and NPB star Kazuma Okamoto, there are a few notable options at the position.

Many of the top names on the free-agent market remain unsigned as of yet. Besides Bregman and Okamoto, none of Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette, Cody Bellinger, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez or Tatsuya Imai have signed yet. Imai’s 45-day posting period closes on January 2. Okamoto’s post period closes two days later.

Prior to the Rendon buyout/restructuring, RosterResource projected The Angels’ payroll is approximately $172 million, which is roughly $34 million less than 2025 levels. Depending on how the new arrangement is structured, the Angels could cost anywhere from $40M-$70 million less than last year’s season end, which would give general manager Perry Minasian and his staff plenty of room to continue expanding the club.