Anthony Rendon

Anthony Rendon Hoping To Return This Season

By Anthony Franco | September 12, 2022 at 10:19pm CDT

Anthony Rendon underwent right wrist surgery in June, the continuation of a series of injuries that have plagued his past two seasons. The Angels announced he’d need four-to-six months to recover and proclaimed the surgery season-ending, but Rendon is holding out hope of a late-season return.

“That’s always been the thing, to come back,” Rendon told reporters this afternoon (via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). “That’s what I was pushing for the whole time. I’m going to push myself, push myself. I’m going to have them push me, push me. And if it works, we’re going to listen to my body. If it doesn’t feel good, we’ll pull it back. We’re just going to push as much as my body will take.”

To that end, Rendon took on-field batting practice for the first time since his surgery today. Fletcher adds that he’s been able to participate in defensive drills as well, perhaps enabling him to get back on the diamond before the season is out. There are a bit more than three weeks remaining on the schedule, with the season wrapping up on October 5.

The Halos are just playing out the stretch, of course, so there’s no reason to force Rendon onto the field before he’s ready. If he’s up to playing for even a week or two, however, it could have some benefits for the club as they turn their attention to 2023. Rendon indicated he’d feel better about his offseason preparation if he were able to make it back this year and log some game action heading into the winter.

Getting reinstated from the injured list this season would also expedite his return to the field in 2023. Not long after Rendon was injured, the Angels and Mariners engaged in a massive bench-clearing brawl. MLB handed the third baseman a five-game suspension for his actions during the melee. His suspension can’t be served until he’s reinstated from the IL. If he doesn’t make it back this season, Rendon would have to serve that ban to kick off next year.

Rendon appeared in 45 games before the surgery, hitting .228/.324/.383 with five home runs. After a massive showing during the shortened 2020 campaign, he’s had two seasons with roughly average production with IL stints for groin, knee, hamstring, hip and wrist issues interspersed throughout. He’s under contract for another four seasons beyond this year.

Major League Baseball Issues 12 Suspensions For Angels – Mariners Brawl

By Anthony Franco | June 27, 2022 at 10:30pm CDT

Major League Baseball has handed down 12 suspensions arising from yesterday’s bench-clearing brawl between the Angels and Mariners. The league also handed out undisclosed fines. Nine of the individuals disciplined are from the Angels, while the Mariners lose a trio of players. The discipline is as follows:

Angels

Interim manager Phil Nevin: Ten games
Third baseman Anthony Rendon: Five games
Assistant pitching coach Dom Chiti: Five games
Right-hander Andrew Wantz: Three games
Right-hander Ryan Tepera: Two games
Right-hander Raisel Iglesias: Two games
Bench coach Ray Montgomery: Two games
Interpreter Manny del Campo: Two games
Catching coach Bill Haselman: One game

Mariners

Outfielder Jesse Winker: Seven games
Shortstop J.P. Crawford: Five games
Outfielder Julio Rodríguez: Two games

The fight occurred during yesterday afternoon’s contest (video link). Wantz, who opened the game for the Halos, threw a pitch behind Rodríguez in the first inning. That came on the heels of the Angels taking umbrage to an up-and-in offering from Erik Swanson to Mike Trout the night before, and it resulted in warnings from the umpiring crew. Wantz nevertheless hit Winker with the first pitch of the following inning. The Seattle left fielder initially seemed as if he’d simply take first base, but he wound up making his way towards the Angels’ dugout. That kicked off a few minutes of fighting that eventually resulted in the ejections of Wantz, Winker, Crawford, Rodríguez, Nevin, Tepera, Iglesias and Seattle manager Scott Servais.

Wantz’s suspension is for “intentionally throwing at Winker while warnings were in place,” according to MLB. Nevin has been suspended for Wantz’s pitches, while everyone else involved was banned for their roles in the melee itself.

Players are afforded an appellate right for on-field discipline. MLB announced that Wantz has already foregone his appeal and will begin serving his suspension today. The league didn’t indicate that any other players had done that, so they’ll remain on the roster while their suspensions are being heard. Rendon is on the injured list after undergoing season-ending wrist surgery two weeks ago. His suspension won’t take effect until he’s back on the active roster — meaning he’ll presumably miss the first five games of the 2023 season.

Coaches do not have the right to appeal their suspensions. Nevin, Chiti and del Campo will begin serving their bans tonight; Montgomery and Haselman will be out once Chiti returns five games from now.

Notably, players suspended for on-field rules violations cannot be replaced on the active roster. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that the Mariners will be permitted to stagger any bans for their suspended players so as not to have the position player group decimated at the same time — it’s unclear if a similar setup will be in place for the Halos’ bullpen — but the teams will both be playing short-handed for a while once the appeals process is sorted out. While the Angels were dealt significantly more suspensions in terms of quantity, Seattle will feel the bigger hit in on-field production (assuming the suspensions aren’t overturned on appeal) with the subtraction of a trio of regulars from the lineup.

Angels Select David MacKinnon

By Darragh McDonald | June 18, 2022 at 8:15pm CDT

8:15pm: The Angels announced the selection of MacKinnon and corresponding moves. A spot on the active roster was created by right-hander Austin Warren being placed on the 15-day IL with a right triceps strain. To create room on the 40-man roster, Anthony Rendon was transferred to the 60-day injured list. It was reported yesterday that Rendon is set to having season-ending surgery on his wrist, making this transaction an inevitable formality.

7:25pm: Angels manager Phil Nevin tells Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com that the club will select the contract of first baseman David MacKinnon for the second game of today’s doubleheader. He is not currently on the 40-man roster, meaning a corresponding move will be required.

MacKinnon, 27, was a 32nd round draft pick of the Angels in 2017. He’s never been a highly-touted prospect, having never appeared on the Angels’ prospect lists at either Baseball America or FanGraphs. That’s perhaps due to his age, as he was already 22 by the time he was drafted and 23 by the time he first played a professional game. He also doesn’t offer much on the defensive side of things, as he’s only capable of playing first base. (He did play one game at second base in Double-A last year.)

Nevertheless, he’s earned his way up to the majors due to his skills with the bat. In 334 games over his minor league career, he has a batting line of .294/.413/.462. This year, in Triple-A Salt Lake, he’s walking at an incredible 14.2% rate while striking out just 18.8% of the time. He’s also hit 13 home runs and is slashing .327/.423/.633 for a wRC+ of 156. Based on that tremendous output, the Angels will give him the call to make his MLB debut and see if he can translate any of that to the show.

The Angels have Jared Walsh at first base and Shohei Ohtani as the designated hitter most nights, but both of them are left-handed hitters. Since MacKinnon hits from the right side, he could potentially give either of them a day off when facing a difficult lefty pitcher, in addition to likely taking some pinch-hitting opportunities.

Anthony Rendon To Undergo Season-Ending Wrist Surgery

By Mark Polishuk | June 17, 2022 at 11:03pm CDT

6:17PM: The Angels have officially placed Rendon on the 10-day IL, and called up infielder Jack Mayfield from Triple-A. Rendon will probably be held back from a 60-day IL placement until the Halos have need for an extra 40-man roster spot.

Angels team trainer Mike Frostad also gave reporters (including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger) some details on Rendon’s status, saying that Rendon will need 4-6 months to recover. Rendon has a subluxed tendon, and tried to play through the discomfort, though it was known that surgery would eventually be needed to fix the problem.

4:10PM: Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon will undergo surgery on his right wrist next week, the team announced. The procedure will sideline Rendon for the remainder of the 2022 season.

Rendon spent two weeks on the injured list due to soreness in that same wrist earlier this season, and he has missed the last couple of games after re-aggravating the problem. Angels manager Phil Nevin intimated that Rendon was a pinch-hitting possibility as recently as yesterday, so today’s news comes as an unwelcome surprise, and an indication that further testing revealed a more severe problem with Rendon’s wrist.

This will mark the second straight season cut short by surgery for Rendon, as he underwent a hip procedure last August that prematurely ended his 2021 season. That year had already been shortened by multiple trips to the IL for groin, knee, and hamstring injuries, with Rendon’s hip ultimately bearing the brunt as he tried to compensate for those other lower-body problems.

Rendon will finish the season with a .228/.324/.383 slash line and five home runs over 188 plate appearances. While this still works out to above-average offensive production (106 wRC+), it is far below the standard Rendon yet during his heyday with the Nationals, or even in his first Angels season in 2020. Since the start of the 2021 campaign, Rendon has hit only .235/.327/.383 in 437 PA, and played in only 103 games.

The Angels signed Rendon to a seven-year, $245MM free agent deal in December 2019, and apart from Rendon’s strong performance in the shortened 2020 campaign, this deal is already showing signs of joining the Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, and Justin Upton contracts in the Angels’ recent history of expensive misfires. Rendon still has four more years to make good on the deal, of course, but he turned 32 earlier this month and now has two lost seasons under his belt.

Rendon’s injury continues a nightmarish stretch for the Angels. In possession of a 27-17 record and a playoff berth on May 24, the Halos have since lost 18 of 21 games, including a 14-game losing streak. Manager Joe Maddon was already fired, and the Angels now face an uphill climb just to break their string of losing seasons, let alone get back into the wild card hunt. While it is still mid-June and plenty of the season remains, losing Rendon creates yet another hole in an already shaky roster.

Matt Duffy and Tyler Wade figure to handle third base duties in Rendon’s absence, which further weakens second base since that duo and Luis Rengifo were juggling time at the keystone. David Fletcher was placed on the 60-day IL in the aftermath of adductor surgery, and in a best-case scenario would return around the All-Star break. Jack Mayfield, Jose Rojas and Kean Wong are also in the organization, but are imperfect solutions to an already-shaky infield picture. Should the Halos get back into the playoff picture, any of shortstop, second, or third base could be target areas for the trade deadline, depending on who was available and how Anaheim shuffled its other personnel around the diamond.

Injury Notes: Rays, Cubs, Angels

By TC Zencka | June 16, 2022 at 8:55am CDT

The Rays placed starter Drew Rasmussen on the 15-day injured list yesterday (retroactive to June 12) with a left hamstring strain. Ralph Garza Jr. was recalled to take his roster spot. The 26-year-old Rasmussen has been solid for Tampa over 12 starts, posting a 3.41 ERA/3.90 FIP across 58 innings. Garza has been a frequent call-up for Kevin Cash’s club, making 11 appearances with a 3.27 ERA/4.64 FIP over 22 innings. He’ll return to his spot in the bullpen for now. Elsewhere around the game…

The Cubs placed second baseman Nick Madrigal on the 10-day injured list yesterday with a left groin strain. The move was retroactive to June 12th. The Cubbies were lauded for their acquisition of the 25-year-old, but he has yet to find his stride in Wrigleyville, hitting just .222/.263/.250 through 115 plate appearances. He’s been solid defensively, however, posting 3 DRS without making an error thus far. Veteran Jonathan Villar has taken over at the keystone in Madrigal’s absence, with Andrelton Simmons and rookie Christopher Morel also seeing some run there.
The Angels are nearing a decision point about Anthony Rendon, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Rendon has missed four games because of the same wrist that caused him to miss 12 games earlier this month. If he can’t get back in the lineup soon, the Angels won’t have much choice but to put him back on the shelf. A litany of setbacks has kept Rendon from achieving his Nationals form over his three-year tenure with the Angels. So far this season, he was slashing .228/.324/.383, not a bad mark overall (106 wRC+), though still lacking in the power department.

Angels Place Anthony Rendon On 10-Day Injured List Due To Wrist Inflammation

By Mark Polishuk | May 28, 2022 at 5:45pm CDT

5:45 PM: The Angels have officially announced the move, placing Rendon on the 10-day injured list with the designation of right wrist inflammation. In a corresponding move, Janson Junk was recalled from Triple-A and placed on the active roster.

7:42 AM: Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon will be placed on the 10-day injured list prior to today’s game against the Blue Jays, manager Joe Maddon said last night. An MRI revealed the issue in Rendon’s wrist, but there was otherwise no structural damage.

Rendon suffered the injury while taking a swing in Thursday’s game, and he didn’t play in last night’s contest between the Jays and Angels. Tyler Wade stepped in as the starting third baseman, and with Rendon sidelined, it would seem like Wade and Matt Duffy would form a platoon at the hot corner until Rendon is ready to return. In the minors, Jack Mayfield is at Triple-A and on the 40-man roster, so he is probably the likeliest candidate to receive a call-up so the Halos can replenish their infield depth.

After missing much of the 2021 season due to hamstring, groin, and knee problems, Rendon has bounced back this year to hit .242/.335/.403 with five home runs over his first 173 plate appearances. This production translates to a 116 OPS+ and 118 wRC+ — still solidly above average, if below the superstar numbers Rendon posted with the Nationals and in his first season (2020) in Anaheim. It could be that the best is yet to come for Rendon this season, as his .358 xwOBA is well ahead of his .329 wOBA.

The Angels have been one of the league’s better-hitting teams, though the injury bug has started to bite some key bats. Rendon’s trip to the IL is the most impactful of these injuries, as Taylor Ward returned to the lineup yesterday after missing a few games with a stringer. Shohei Ohtani wasn’t in last night’s lineup due to a sore back, though the two-way star was able to pinch-hit.

AL Notes: Red Sox, Houck, Angels, Rendon, White Sox, Kelly

By TC Zencka | April 17, 2022 at 10:01pm CDT

Tanner Houck indicated that he is not vaccinated against COVID-19, and therefore, he will be unable to travel to Toronto to make his scheduled start later this month, per Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe. Players do not have to be vaccinated, but any traveler heading into Canada does. Houck is scheduled to pitch against the Blue Jays in Boston on Thursday, putting him in line to start in Toronto the following Tuesday (April 26). The Red Sox will have to shift their rotation around, potentially pushing Houck’s next start to the following series in Baltimore. This shouldn’t be a big issue for Boston, as the club won’t play in Toronto again until a 3-game set at the end of June. They also play in Toronto for three of the season’s final six games. So at the end of the year this could be something that Boston has to think about, but that’s a problem for another day.

Anthony Rendon took his day of rest today, sitting out the Sunday game for the second consecutive week. This could be a pattern for Rendon, at least early in the season, per The Athletic’s Sam Blum (via Twitter). Manager Joe Maddon is cognizant of the fact that, despite it being a new season, Rendon is still coming off surgery. Given the money that Rendon is owed over the next five seasons, it certainly makes sense to value Rendon’s long-term health. The All-Star third baseman turns 32 in June.
Joe Kelly is probably looking at an early May return to the active roster, if all goes well. He threw bullpen sessions today and looked good, but the club is still likely targeting late April for a rehab assignment to Charlotte, per The Athletic’s James Fegan (via Twitter). Kelly has yet to make his Southside debut, having begun the season on the injured list.

Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon Healthy For Start Of Spring Training

By Mark Polishuk | March 5, 2022 at 2:38pm CDT

After injury-shortened 2021 seasons, two of the Angels’ biggest stars are healthy. Mike Trout’s agent Craig Landis tells Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times that Trout is “100 percent” ready to fully participate in Spring Training activities whenever the lockout ends, while a source familiar with Anthony Rendon’s recovery says the third baseman is also a “full-go” in the wake of surgery to correct a hip impingement.

Trout and Rendon combined for 84 games in 2021, and were in the same starting lineup together only 19 times. Trout was at least still his superstar-level self before suffering a season-ending right calf strain on May 17, hitting .333/.466/.624 with eight home runs over what ended up being his only 146 plate appearances. For Rendon, a series of nagging problems sent him to the injured list on multiple occasions and limited his production to only a .240/.329/.382 slash line over 249 PA.

The majority of Rendon’s injuries related to his left leg, though it was actually a right hip problem stemming from his rehab for a left hamstring injury that finally ended his season in August. Rendon said during a radio interview in November that the timing of the surgery was intended so he could head into Spring Training with a clean bill of health, and that now appears to be the case, even if the lockout has delayed the entirety of the normal baseball calendar.

Trout’s calf strain was a source of constant frustration for the former MVP, the Angels, and baseball fans as a whole, as the outfielder was seemingly close to a return on multiple occasions except his calf never stopped feeling sore after Trout took part in baseball-related activities. Trout and the team held out hope until September before officially shutting things down, again with an eye towards an early start on getting Trout fully healthy for the 2022 season.

Needless to say, the returns of Trout and Rendon in full health and with their usual levels of production could give the Angels one of the league’s most dangerous lineups. Of course, pitching has long been the Angels’ biggest obstacle, but the team has re-signed closer Raisel Iglesias and also added Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen to the rotation mix, not to mention what other moves could be in store once the transactions freeze is lifted.

AL Notes: McKay, Rays, Angels, Rendon, Mariners

By Anthony Franco | November 2, 2021 at 8:54pm CDT

The Rays are expected to receive a fourth option year on left-hander/first baseman Brendan McKay, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. If that indeed proves to be the case, Tampa Bay would be able to option McKay to the minor leagues through the end of next season.

Most players can be optioned for three seasons. After a team exhausts those option years, they have to keep a player on the active roster or remove him from the 40-man roster entirely (thereby allowing other clubs an opportunity to trade for or claim that player off waivers). However, for players who have accrued fewer than five full professional seasons — defined as years with at least ninety days on a major league or minor league active roster — teams may be granted a fourth option year.

Fourth options most often come into play for players who have missed a significant amount of time in their careers on account of injuries. McKay is no exception, as he has barely pitched at any level over the past two seasons. After missing all of 2020 and the first half of this season recovering from shoulder surgery, the southpaw suffered a flexor strain in August that ended his 2021 campaign after just seven minor league outings.

Angels Notes: Ohtani, Trout, Rendon, Stassi

By Mark Polishuk | August 12, 2021 at 9:30pm CDT

Shohei Ohtani’s epic season has made him one of the most fascinating players in recent memory, and his contract status may only add to that intrigue. Ohtani is controlled through the 2023 campaign (via the final year of his current two-year contract with the Angels and then a final arbitration-eligible season) and as ESPN’s Buster Olney writes, speculation has already begun about whether a potential Ohtani extension would set new precedents. Rival evaluators feel the Angels could be best served to work out an extension with Ohtani this winter, in order to figure out as soon as possible how to best manage a difficult payroll situation.

It is hard to imagine that the Angels would trade Ohtani or let him walk in free agency, yet Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon are also committed to huge salaries and not going anywhere. Olney estimates that retaining that trio of stars could put Los Angeles on the hook for roughly $120MM-$130MM per year, which wouldn’t leave the Angels with much wiggle room in filling out the rest of the roster. While the luxury tax thresholds could rise in the next collective bargaining agreement and owner Arte Moreno has been willing to spend big, the Angels haven’t paid a tax bill since 2004. With Albert Pujols’ deal still on the books until the end of the season, the Angels are used to top-heavy payrolls, but that tactic has left the team unable to amass much in the way of depth (especially on the pitching side) and the Halos haven’t had a winning season since 2015.

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