Angels' 2 biggest deals of Winter Meetings past

Avert your eyes, Angels fans. Or better yet -- hate-read the rest of this article.

The Angels have long gotten in their own way when attempting to shoe-horn in a winning season by throwing money at big names. Whether it's a lack of desire to try hard after being handed generational wealth, injury misfortune, lack of due diligence, or some combination of the three, the Angels' big-ticket free agent items did not pan out (to put it mildly). It's not pretty.

The Winter Meetings are coming up and Perry Minasian is balling out. This is primetime for a Minasian heat-check, whether it's a big trade or a free agency signing. All Angels fans know is he cannot possibly knee-cap the team like former GMs have done at the Winter Meetings. Do your thing, Perry, you will not make deals as bad as these.

Anthony Rendon

It seems like only yesterday when the news broke at the San Diego Winter Meetings that Anthony Rendon was leaving the Nationals to join the Angels. Somehow, Rendon only has two years left of seven-year, $245 million contract given to him by Billy Eppler. Time flies when you're having fun.

The Rendon signing seemed doomed from the start. His first season was during the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season. Rendon played 52 of 60 possible games, and turned in the best bWAR of his Angels career that season. Yes, the highest bWAR of Rendon's careeer took place during a 60-game season.

If you rank Rendon's games played from most-to-least of his 12-year career, his five Angels seasons are all at the bottom. His 52 games played in 2020 were more than the 162-game seasons of 2022 and 2023. He played 57 in 2024 and 58 in 2021. He has yet to play 60 games or more for the Angels and he makes $35 million a year.

Rendon has two home runs the past two seasons, both coming in 2023. He is heading for a bench role, unless he is simply cut from the roster like Minasian did with Albert Pujols. Speaking of...

Albert Pujols

There was no way Pujols was going to continue his generational run while in Anaheim. At the time, Pujols' 10-year, $254 million contract was the second highest ever. Jerry Dipoto agreed to terms with the Hall of Famer on the final day of the 2011 Winter Meetings.

Like Rendon, Pujols was coming off a World Series championship. However, unlike Rendon, Pujols did put in some solid production before his game fell off a cliff. Pujols finished 17th in AL MVP voting twice, in 2012 and 2014. He hit 115 home runs in his first four years with the Halos.

Pujols' final season took place in 2022, when he reunited with the Cardinals for one last ride. At age-42, his 2.1 bWAR was a higher mark than any season with the Angels minus 2012, 2014, 2015. He really added insult to injury by ending his career on a massive high note. Good for him, not good for the Angels.

Right after signing Pujols, the Angels turned around and signed C.J. Wilson on a five-year, $77.5 million contract. The Wilson deal came back into Angels fans' brains when their favorite team recently surpassed that record-deal's AAV by signing Yusei Kikuchi for three-years, $63 million. Wilson's AAV had previously been the highest mark for an Angels pitcher ever.

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