LA Angels: Why the Anthony Rendon signing will pay off

The Los Angeles Angels signed free agent Anthony Rendon over the winter and it could turn into a sneaky-good acquisition for the Halos.

When the Los Angeles Angels came to an agreement with free-agent third baseman Anthony Rendon on December 13, 2019, there may have been some mixed feelings on the transaction. While the signing was certainly a cause for some celebration, it also signaled that the team had pivoted a bit from its primary focus heading into the winter.

The Angels knew they had to make a big splash in free agency and many pundits expected them to be active. A team that had been decimated by injuries on the pitching front, the Halos were attached to nearly every big free agent arm on the market and the thought was that they would come away with at least one ace.

The team swung and missed on Garrett Cole, Stephen Strasburg, and Zack Wheeler. Then it failed to reel in smaller fish like Dallas Keuchel, Hyun-Jin Ryu, or Madison Bumgarner. Even trade targets like Corey Kluber escaped their clutches. In the end, the team made only minor additions to their pitching staff with trades for Dylan Bundy and Matt Andriese and a free agent pick-up in Julio Teheran.

However, the Angels didn’t come away empty-handed. The signing of Anthony Rendon was likely to happen anyway, even if he wasn’t the team’s primary need entering the winter. While the pick-up doesn’t solve the pitching woes the team has faced over the past several seasons, it still stands to be an addition that will pay off for the Angels in the long-term.

Let’s take a look at why the Rendon signing may be a sneaky-good pick-up for the Angels, both in the near team and the long-haul.

Anthony Rendon solidifies third base for the Angels

If there was one position on the diamond where the Los Angeles Angels have seen as much turnover as they have on the pitching mound, it has been at third base. Since 2014, the Angels have used 27 different players at the position, and that included multiple seasons of work from both David Freese and Yunel Escobar.

David Fletcher saw the bulk of the work there in 2019, making 90 appearances (74 starts) at the hot corner, and in all fairness to Fletcher, his work there was solid. In 665.1 innings at third, Fletcher graded out positively with a 7.4 UZR/150 and six defensive runs saved. However, his Range Runs above Average (RngR) came in at a -0.6.

Over the course of his career, Anthony Rendon actually grades fairly similar at the position as Fletcher, with a UZR/150 of 6.8 and an average DRS of 4.4. However, his 2.0 RngR is a positive upgrade over Fletcher in the role.

So if Rendon brings similar defense to the table at third, how does this help the Angels from that standpoint?

By having a stabilizing defensive player at third base, the Angels are able to slot Fletcher back into the middle infield. While he won’t unseat Andrelton Simmons at shortstop, Fletcher’s play at second base is significantly better than his work at third. In 600.1 innings of work at the keystone, Fletcher owns a lifetime UZR/150 of 11.0 and averages of 7.0 in DRS and 1.25 in RngR.

By bringing in Rendon, the team not only adds a long-term piece to the revolving door at third base, but it ultimately betters the overall team defense as well.

Anthony Rendon will give the Angels the middle-of-the-order bat they needed

Earlier this week, we touched a bit on Albert Pujols and what the aging slugger may have left in the tank. While the future Hall of Famer has been good for 20+ home runs and 80+ RBI over the course of the last three or so seasons, he’s been a far cry from the player he once was. He’s graded out as below replacement level with the bat for in each of the last three seasons and has essentially created a hole in the Angels line-up.

Likewise, Justin Upton was slowed nearly all of 2019 with a right-knee issue, and only managed a .215/.309/.416 batting line with 12 home runs, 40 RBI, and a wRC+ of 92 in 63 games last season. Coupled with Pujols’ decline and the late start for Shohei Ohtani, that put a lot of pressure on Mike Trout to carry the lineup on a nightly basis.

The addition of Anthony Rendon solves a major problem there for the Angels.

Rendon has been a 6.0+ fWAR player each of the last three seasons, achieving a career-high 7.0 while finish third in the National League MVP vote in 2019. With a 162-game average of .290/.369/.490, 24 home runs, and 97 RBI, Rendon has shown the ability to be a run producer in the major leagues.

However, it goes deeper than that.

In 887 career at-bats in the three-hole of the line-up, Rendon owns a wRC+ of 142, and ISO of .251, and a weighted runs above average (wRAA) of 64.0. If you move him to the four-hole, Rendon continues the mashing to the tune of a similar wRC+ of 142, a .224 ISO, and a wRAA of 24.0 over 344 at-bats.

In other words, Rendon is a proven threat in the middle of the line-up and is an ideal bat to slot in behind Mike Trout. Moving Trout to the two-hole, then following with Rendon, Ohtani, and Upton may be the ideal build for an Angels line-up that will be decidedly more dangerous in 2020.