TEMPE, Ariz. — Anthony Rendon’s two seasons with the Angels have not been what the team or he had hoped, with one season shortened by the pandemic and the second by injuries.
If Angels fans are still waiting to see a full season of the real Rendon, he has a suggestion for them.
“Maybe they can go back and look at some tape,” he quipped Wednesday.
The best-case scenario would be for Rendon, 31, to finally have a full season with the Angels similar to those “on tape.” His years with the Washington Nationals were good enough to earn him a seven-year, $245-million contract with the Angels.
Being healthy is certainly a good start.
Rendon had hip surgery in August. He said he’s been hitting since November, and able to run full speed since January.
“It’s like night and day,” Rendon said. “I don’t feel anything stabbing me in the groin any more, so that’s good.”
Rendon was on the injured list three times last season with what seemed to be minor injuries. He hurt his quad in April, fouled a ball off his knee in May and suffered a hamstring injury in July. After the rehab from the hamstring injury took longer than expected, Rendon finally learned that there was an underlying problem that contributed not only to the injuries, but to his ineffectiveness in between.
He had a right hip impingement.
“I knew something was wrong,” Rendon said. “But everything said that it was clean. It was kind of a good relief, the monkey off your shoulder, realizing they found something wrong.”
Rendon hit .240 with a .712 OPS in 58 games last season, which he subsequently attributed to the trouble with his lower half. He said he couldn’t be himself defensively either, because it was difficult for him to “sink into his legs” in the proper position at third.
Now, there is again hope that the Angels can get a healthy, effective Rendon. He hit .286 with a .915 OPS in the shortened 2020 season, finishing 10th in MVP voting. Over his final three years with the Nationals, he had a .953 OPS and he averaged 28 homers.
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If that guy plays regularly in a lineup with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout – they were together for only 17 games last season – the Angels will fare much better offensively.
“If we’re out there at the same time, I think obviously we will be better,” Rendon said. “Hopefully that can happen this year.”