LA Angels: Is Anthony Rendon the best teammate of Mike Trout’s career?

Going into the offseason, everyone knew the LA Angels needed to add starting pitchers. However. the Halos had another hole to fill, which they did.

That second hole is the LA Angels superstar to pair with Mike Trout at the top of their lineup. Throughout his career, Trout has been alone as an elite hitter in the top half of the Halo lineup. Anthony Rendon changes that as he naturally slots below Trout, giving him protection.

But the Rendon acquisition does raise an interesting question: Is Anthony Rendon the most talented teammate Mike Trout has ever had?

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In short, yes.

In terms of the best player to ever play alongside Mike Trout, that honor obviously goes to Albert Pujols. While he hasn’t been the Cardinals’ version of himself with the Angels, Pujols has continued to work himself into the inner circles of the Hall of Fame throughout his Angels career. His continuous climb up the leaderboards is only going to get even more impressive in 2020 as well.

The main competition for Rendon is Andrelton Simmons, but Shohei Ohtani is a dark horse. In terms of the most overall talent on a baseball field, it’s tough to beat Ohtani’s two-way abilities. However, he isn’t as elite in the batter’s box as Rendon. And until he can stay healthy on the mound, Ohtani sits below Rendon and Simmons in this pecking order.

There is a legitimate argument to be made that even with Rendon manning third base in Anaheim now, Andrelton Simmons is Trout’s best teammate ever. While Rendon has the clear edge at the plate, Simmons’ defensive skill could push him past Rendon despite Rendon being a rock solid defender as well.

In terms of career WAR, Rendon has the edge over Simmons with 32.7 since 2012 (Simmons has 24.9 in the same span). Rendon also had 7.0 WAR in his best season, while Simmons’ best season saw him with a mark of 5.4.

So yes, it would appear Anthony Rendon is the best teammate Mike Trout has ever had, especially at the plate. Rendon is going to offer more protection for Trout than he’s ever had, and it will be interesting to see pitchers decide whether they want to pitch to Mike Trout, or pitch to Anthony Rendon with Mike Trout on first.