Alden GonzalezNov 26, 2025, 03:19 PM ETCloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.Follow on X
Source: Angels in talks to buy out Rendon deal (0:58)Source: Angels in talks to buy out Rendon deal (0:58)
Rendon, who spent the entire 2025 season recovering from hip surgery, is expected to retire, a source said.
The 35-year-old is owed $38 million in 2026. A potential buyout of that remaining money has not been finalized, and situations like this can often get complicated, but the expectation is that Rendon will defer at least part of that money, giving the team more financial flexibility to address needs this offseason.
The Angels made Rendon the game’s highest-paid third baseman in December 2019, after watching him star for the then-World Series champion Washington Nationals. If the Angels and Rendon’s agent, Scott Boras, are able to finalize a buyout, he will end up playing in just a quarter of the Angels’ games over the life of that deal, compiling 3.7 FanGraphs wins above replacement (fWAR).
A first-round pick out of Rice University in 2011, Rendon established himself as one of the game’s best all-around players with an emerging corps in Washington. He was a hitting savant and a gifted defender, and from 2016 to 2019 only nine position players put up more fWAR.
Rendon looked very much like his usual self during a 2020 season that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It proved to be the last time the Angels experienced anything close to Rendon’s prime. Over the next four years, he slashed just .231/.329/.336 while appearing in 205 of a potential 648 games. Injuries to his left groin, left knee, left hamstring, left shin, left oblique, lower back, both wrists and both hips sent him to the injured list.
The Angels have not made the playoffs since 2014 and have not won a playoff game since 2009. The 2025 season marked their 10th in a row with a below-.500 record. Kurt Suzuki, Rendon’s teammate on the 2019 Nationals, has since been named the Angels’ manager — the team’s sixth in eight years.
Source: Angels in talks to buy out Rendon deal (0:58)Source: Angels in talks to buy out Rendon deal (0:58)
Source: Angels in talks to buy out Rendon deal (0:58)
CloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.Follow on X