Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon is slated to become the best position player to hit free agency in the upcoming offseason. He might not reach the open market, though. Nationals owner Ted Lerner and Rendon’s agent, Scott Boras, are discussing an extension for the All-Star, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports.
Boras was at Nationals Park on Saturday – an indication of how serious negotiations have become, Zuckerman observes. The two sides have talked about a new deal for Rendon on and off for a while now, though they haven’t been able to bridge the gap thus far. Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reported earlier this week there hadn’t been much progress between the team and player, noting Rendon’s likely seeking a pact in the range of the seven-year, $234MM extension Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado signed before the season.
Rendon’s trophy case is nowhere near as full as that of Arenado, who has earned five All-Star trips and six Gold Gloves, among other awards. Nevertheless, Rendon has been one of the majors’ premier players in his own right. Rendon, whom the Nationals chose sixth overall in the 2011 draft, debuted in 2013 and has since slashed .286/.363/.482 (125 wRC+) with 122 home runs and 29.0 fWAR in 3,597 plate appearances. Only 11 position players have bettered Rendon in the fWAR department dating back to his first at-bat, and he’s now enjoying his top season yet. On the strength of a .304/.388/.612 line (150 wRC+) with 20 homers in 320 PA, Rendon finally picked up a long-overdue All-Star nod.
Now, having lost Bryce Harper to free agency last winter, the Nationals don’t seem prepared to let yet another homegrown superstar depart. Harper’s also a Boras client, but even though the team was unable to retain the outfielder, its ownership is known to have a positive relationship with the super-agent.
Along with Rendon, four of the Nationals’ other players are Boras clients, including high-profile starters Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. Washington signed Scherzer to a seven-year, $210MM contract in free agency entering 2015. The club then handed Strasburg a seven-year, $175MM extension in May 2016, when he was just a few months from potentially testing the open market. The Nationals may now follow suit with Rendon.
You do not lose Harper and then Rendon in back to back years.
They cannot afford rendon.
Not true at all. Rendon is making $18 million already this year. Ryan Zimmerman has a $18 million club option next year that will not be used. Even if Zimmerman comes back at $10 million (way more than Zim will get), add that $8 million to Rendon and they are at a total of $26 million and the club is still $14 million under the luxury tax number.
158/8 ..19.75mil aav. That’s a fair deal. But that means Cubs would have to offer bryant at least 230 mil over 9 years.
Zimmerman is not coming back.
They can offer Harper 300 mil but rendon cant be offered half of that?
c’mon boras let rendon hit the open market
Not up to Boras. Remember, the agent works for the player not the other way around.
It’s amazing how many people will make those foolish posts.
It’s the truth. The agent does work for the player.
100%. It’s not the Agents signature on the contract.
Sounds like Rendon is sitting out the all star game so he can negotiate a contract extension haha
I wouldn’t pay the guy. Haven’t won anything with him and you keep spending big money going nowhere. Contract will be horrible after 3 years like 90% of the rest
My sentiments exactly. They aren’t close to winning and could get a massive haul in trade for him.
Jeez, the Nats are right in the thick of the WC race and the Nats have a decent roster.
And there’s not really a contender out there that has a glaring need a 3B.
There’s the Phils, but the Nats are only a 1/2 game behind them, why would they sell out to them. Some sort of Sano + prospects for Rendon might work, but Sano’s really a DH.
Nats 1/2 game ahead of Philly.
They are closer than you might think.
Maybe they shouldnt but Rendon isnt part of the Nats problem. He isnt like Strasburg or Harper who just constsntly underproduce. If they feel they need to make the next two years all-in years than you DO sign him.
He’s a very good player and I’d be shocked if he sticks around without testing the market. The Nationals organization either isn’t very well ran (bad contracts, bad trades, consistent lack of winning, etc.), So it doesn’t incentivize good players to be loyal. Athletes are competitive and want to win.
What bad contracts and trades? Since 2012 they have won 90+ games four times. How many teams have 90+ wins in the last 50 years, not to mention 4.
Ok, so Strasburg hasn’t lived up to his debut performance. Who in the last 10 years has? Kershaw? Scherzer?
Strasburg is not as durable as some, I’ll give that point. But look at his numbers since his 2010 debut:
104-56 .650 win pct.
3.18 ERA 1.089 WHIP
30.4 WAR
1,346 IP 1,582 K’s v 350 BB’s
Those are damn respectable numbers. He’d be the ace of most pitching staffs in baseball.
Strasburg’s hype was to be what Max Scherzer is. Anything less and people would think Strasburg underachieved no matter what the numbers where.
No, they haven’t won anything with him, but it’s not like he’s the problem. He’s just about the most consistent hitter in baseball, and has a .309/.389/.551 line the last three seasons, with a max of 82 strikeouts in that span. Sure, he’ll age, but he’s a hitter. He’s not an overweight slugger or a flamethrowing reliever. Pure hitters tend to age fairly well. If nothing else, it’s not like he’s on the Rays or A’s and is holding down too much of the payroll. They can afford him.
This isn’t the NBA, one player doesn’t make you win. Should the Angels dump Mike Trout because they haven’t won with him?
Yeah, the Max Scherzer contract is working out horribly for the Nationals. They couldn’t give that scrub away.
Strasburg has an opt-out after this season. Given the way the market has trended, he may not want to find out no one will pay him what the current contract calls for, but it is a variable to consider. So far, he’s held up his end of the deal.
As has Scherzer, and then some. NYY’s wishful thinking aside, he ain’t going noplace, at least not before his deal is up after 2021.
So the “window”, if one believes in such things, is not closing.
Rendon isn’t worth Arenado money, but it’s not as silly a suggestion as, say, $100MM for a closer. .
Arenado isn’t worth that kind of money when factoring in home/away splits. If he ever gets traded his contract will almost instantly (most likely) be a bad one considering AAV. He surprisingly hits plenty of HRs away from Coors, but BA, OBP, SLG are all significantly lower away.
He can opt out then re-sign like cc Sabathia
I wonder how many large contracts can the Nationals carry?!?! I mean, Rendon is the most deserving out of all of them, except maybe Sherzer but that’s still going to mean a lot of players in their 30’s with huge contracts. If I’m not mistaken that’s still a recepe for disaster or has that changed over the last few hours?
What are you talking about? They have 3 big pitching contracts, but otherwise Rendon is the highest paid hitter already. It’s not a cheap team, but Zim’s contract will be up this year. (Also a decent chance that Strasburg opts out).
What bad contracts and trades? Since 2012 they have won 90+ games four times. How many teams have 90+ wins in the last 50 years, not to mention 4.
Ridiculous comment. From 1997-2003 the Braves had 100+ wins 4 times, 95 wins another. Yankees, Cubs and Red Sox have similar runs as well recently.
Several actually. Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, Dodgers, Cubs, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Braves, Giants, etc and so on. And those are just from the late 90s until current. And most of the ones listed have plenty more than just 4 seasons of 90+ wins.
Is 7 yrs for $220-230 million a crazy number?
Compared to others, not at all.
Bad juju. He will be on the wrong side of 30 for most of that contract. Trade him!
I’d trade him. The teams they’ve had were really good to struggle like they have. Scherzer, Rendon, Eaton, Strasbourg, and maybe Turner would make their farm one of the best in baseball while saving $80,000,000 or so a year. Three straight top five picks or so and they’ll be able to be right back in it.
The Nats had a horrible start. Injuries, horrible bullpen performance and just bad decision making on the part of the manager led mostly to this.
The pitching coach was replaced in May. The team has gotten healthy again. And the bullpen, still has issues, but has started to show up. The result? The Nats have I believe one of the top 2 records in baseball since May along with the Dodgers. They went from having the 2nd most losses in the NL to now being the WC team and in range of the division lead. Definitely showing what kind of team they really are.
All this talk of trading Scherzer, rebuilding etc is due to the slow start. The Nationals are in it now and barring major injury, will be in it come October. Count on it.
Nats need to deal him and Scherzer asap. They aren’t catching the Braves and the Phils aren’t letting go of the wildcard. Take two salary killers and turn them into an amazing haul of prospects to hopefully become a threat again in a couple seasons.
I hope you aren’t a Nationals fan
Logical competition in FA for Rendon’s services is the Texas Rangers who have a long history of successful high profile FA signings at the Hot Corner, a huge void and the financial resources to be aggressive to supplement a surprisingly strong season. Wouldn’t you know Rendon is a Texas guy too. Given the Nats insistence on deferring money combined with local taxes, it’ll be hard to compete with the Rangers if Rendon hits the market. Other realistic suitors? Take the Yankees out of the picture. Doubt the Phillies jump in. Astros & Cubs are set at 3rd. Do the White Sox consider another FA recruitment with a Boras client? Rendon will be entering his age 30 season and should command 8 Yrs $200M+. 4 Yrs older than Harper / Machado with past durability questions, he’s not going to get the $300M those 2 did last offseason.
Nats are in tough predicament. Uncertainty in resources given Strasburg could opt out. Back contending nearing the deadline, the Nats don’t need to recoup value in a trade even if extension talks break down.
Dodgers have a lot of $ coming off the books next year, and they can easily slide Turner over to 2nd base considering that’s a position of need for them.
Boras discussing an in year extension? That doesn’t sound like the Boras way. I expect Rendon to hit the FA market.
Boras works FOR Rendon. If the players wants an extension, it’s Boras’ job to get one.