How Angels could navigate last year of Rendon's contract
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Angels have explored deferring the last year of third baseman Anthony Rendon’s contract, but general manager Perry Minasian couldn’t comment on it on Monday on the first day of the MLB Winter Meetings.
Rendon, who missed the 2025 season after undergoing left hip surgery, is owed $38 million next season in the final year of the seven-year, $245 million deal he signed before the 2020 season. He’s currently rehabbing his hip but hasn’t started baseball activities, so he isn’t expected to play in '26.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Minasian said. “He's rehabbing. We'll see where that goes. There’s nothing to say about that in this current moment.”
If the Angels are to defer Rendon’s contract, as was first reported by ESPN on Nov. 26, it’s a complicated process that involves both MLB and the Players Association. Rendon, 35, would also have to approve it because the $38 million is guaranteed. It’s unclear what the deferred contract would look like and over how many years it would be stretched out.
Rendon’s former Nationals teammate Stephen Strasburg went through a similar process, as he officially retired in 2024 because of injuries and reached a settlement that has deferred payments through ‘29.
If the Angels can’t reach an agreement with Rendon, they would pay him his full $38 million in 2026 and then his contract would come off the books in ’27. But a settlement would allow them to have more financial flexibility, especially this offseason. They also saved roughly $13-14 million by trading Taylor Ward to the Orioles for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez.
Rendon is still on the 40-man roster, but he could be outrighted or placed on the 60-day injured list to clear a roster spot before the start of the season.
He’s largely been injured and unable to play since joining the Angels, playing in just 257 games over five seasons with the club, batting .242/.348/.369 with 22 homers and 125 RBIs. He hit .218/.307/.267 with no homers and 14 RBIs in 57 games in his last season in 2024.
With Rendon not expected to play due to injury again in 2026, the Angels are in the market for a third baseman. Minasian also said they could be open to moving youngster Christian Moore to third base from second if they find a better fit for a second baseman. Kyren Paris and Denzer Guzman (Angels’ No. 8 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) also have been getting in work at third this offseason.
The top free-agent third basemen are Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suárez and Japanese star Munetaka Murakami, while the top free-agent second basemen include Willi Castro, Jorge Polanco, Dylan Moore and possibly Luis Arraez, who has played more first base in recent years.
“We have to have options there,” Minasian said. “Third base is definitely an area we’re looking at.”