At just 34 years of age, Anthony Rendon is experiencing one of the worst moments in his professional career. The possibility of retiring from MLB is very real due to the injuries he has suffered in recent years, while the Los Angeles Angels’ management is waiting with a certain amount of patience.
In recent days, the team’s general manager, Perry Minasian, said that he would be out indefinitely due to hip surgery, from which his rehabilitation will be prolonged and he will miss the start of the season. There are even those who say that it will be several months longer without the guarantee of a physical improvement to return to third base.
Is retirement a possibility for Anthony Rendon?
In the podcast “Baseball Tonight” with Buster Olney, it has been revealed that people close to Rendon have confirmed retirement as a viable option. He only has two years left on his contract and 2025 looks bleak for his return to the California team.
What was Anthony Rendon’s contract?
In 2020, both parties agreed to a seven-year, $245 million contract. But Rendon has more than $38 million remaining on the two remaining seasons and the decision to retire and give up that amount would not sit well with the MLB players’ association.
One option is to receive differentiated payments over a period of time just as the Orioles did with Chris Davis, who is on Baltimore’s payroll and receives deferred payments until 2037. This could even be attractive to Rendon, who has declared his lack of passion for the sport.
It is worth remembering the words made by Anthony Rendon himself: “This has never been a priority, this is a job (baseball). I do this to make a living. My faith and my family come first before this job.” At that time, the specter of retirement was not present, but two years before the end of his contract and with an injury that does not allow him to advance, it is a good excuse to say goodbye to the baseball fields.
Anthony Rendon received the National League Most Valuable Player award four times while with the Nationals between 2014 and 2019 and shone during Washington’s 2019 World Series run.
However, in the last five seasons he has only had 58 games and that streak will certainly continue this year. Therefore, a dignified retirement is a good option and for the Los Angeles Angels management it is an opportunity to lower salary costs and sign another active player.
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