One of the biggest free-agent moves this offseason was Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon signing with the Angels, giving L.A. quite a 1-2 punch with Mike Trout. Here are two props available to wager at Mybookie on Rendon’s and the Angels’ 2020 MLB season – assuming there is one – and an overview.
Anthony Rendon MLB Awards Odds & Analysis For 2020 Season
- AL MVP Award: Rendon is +2500
- Odds to win AL West: Angels are +550
To say Rendon helped the Nationals win their first World Series title last year is a bit of an understatement. Rendon tallied five RBI as the Nationals beat the Astros 7-2 in Game 6 in Houston. Rendon opened the game’s scoring with an RBI single off Justin Verlander in the top of the first inning, hit a two-run homer off reliever Will Harris in the top of the seventh, and added a two-run double for good measure in the top of the ninth.
In Game 7, Rendon hit a solo homer in the seventh inning. Rendon’s homer came with the Nationals trailing 2-0, and it was a solo shot off of Zack Greinke. Of course, Washington would rally to win.
During the regular season, Rendon had the best season of his career in which he hit .319/.412/.598 with career highs in home runs (34), runs (117) and a league-leading 126 RBI. He came up just short of matching Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero’s franchise record for RBI in a season (131 in 1999) and of matching Alfonso Soriano’s record for runs in a season (119 in 2006). He continued his elite performance in the playoffs, batting .328 with five home runs, eight doubles and 21 RBIs.
Washington offered Rendon a seven-year contract in the range of $210 million to $215 million in early September, but that was never going to be enough. He and his agent Scott Boras are were something similar to the eight-year, $260 million extension that Nolan Arenado received from the Rockies last offseason.
Nationals managing principal owner Mark Lerner flat out said that his team can’t afford to retain both Rendon and Stephen Strasburg as free agents. The team re-signed Strasburg.
Nearly every big-market team was after Rendon this offseason, with many thinking he would land with the Dodgers, Braves or Rangers, but the Angels stepped up with the biggest offer: seven years for $245 million. There are no opt outs and a full no-trade clause, and there are no deferrals in the deal. Rendon’s contract is the largest free-agent deal in club history by dollars, surpassing Albert Pujols’ 10-year, $240 million contract signed before the 2012 season.
Across parts of seven major-league seasons, Rendon owns an OPS+ of 126. Over the last three seasons combined, Rendon has an OPS+ of 143, and that’s the level of production in good defense at third for which the Angels paid big money. He’s a career .290/.369/.490 hitter with 136 homers, 245 doubles and 546 RBIs in 916 games.
He’s also been durable, playing in at least 136 games in five of the last six seasons. He and new teammate Mike Trout are two of just nine players in the majors who have produced at least 4.0 WAR each of the past three years.
“Anthony is probably one of the top five players in the game,” Pujols said.
During Rendon’s first three seasons in the majors, he hit 33 homers in 1,432 plate appearances, which added up to a slugging percentage of .425. Around the start of the 2016 season, though, he was encouraged to swing a little more aggressively to try to pull the ball early in the count.
contract covers the 2020 to 2026 seasons, specifically, so if there is no 2020 season, the Angels simply lose a year of Rendon’s contract. They also won’t have to pay him his full salary in 2020, so they would get some relief in that way.
The Rangers had hoped Rendon, a Houston native, would sign with them out of a desire to play close to home. Rendon ruled out the Rangers when the club declined to offer him seven years.
