Oft-injured Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon is having hip surgery and is expected to miss a significant amount of time, general manager Perry Minasian said Wednesday.
After signing a seven-year, $245 million contract and debuting with the Angels during the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season, Rendon, 34, has not played more than 58 games in any season. He had a 1.010 OPS with 34 home runs and a major-league-leading 126 RBIs with the Washington Nationals in 2019, but his OPS over five years with the Angels is just .717.
All told, Rendon has played in only 257 games and missed 451 — with 12 stints on the injured list since 2021 — for the Angels.
He had three stints on the injured list in 2024 with hamstring, lower back and oblique issues, finishing the season with a .218 batting average with zero home runs and 14 RBIs in 206 at-bats.
Rendon has hit .242 with 22 home runs and 125 RBIs since joining the Angels. He batted .290 with 136 homers and 546 RBIs in seven seasons with the Nationals.
His absence clears the way for free agent acquisition Yoan Moncada to be the every-day starting third baseman. Moncada, a 29-year-old switch-hitter who signed a $5 million deal on Thursday, broke out in 2019 for the Chicago White Sox but slashed .236/.291/.387 while playing in only 208 games over the past three seasons.
Last year, for a White Sox team that lost a record 121 games, Moncada played in only 12, sitting out five months because of an adductor strain. He returned Sept. 18, taking one at-bat before missing the rest of the season.
Rendon has frustrated Angels fans with a series of pronouncements about his passion for baseball — or lack thereof.
In the last two years alone, Rendon said baseball has “never been a top priority for me,” complained about the length of the MLB season, and volunteered that he has been contemplating retirement since shortly after his major league career began.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and The Associated Press contributed to this report.