Angels' nightmare is nearly over after resolution with Anthony Rendon’s contract

The Los Angeles Angels have been dealing with Anthony Rendon and his awful contract for years now. Signed as a future cornerstone of the Angels lineup, Rendon has been anything but that as he has dealt with a litany of injuries as well as appearing to not being committed as a player during his time in LA. We'll never know what could have been if he hadn't gotten hurt so much and hadn't lost his motivation, but the end result was a terrible partnership on some pretty bad Angels teams.

Given the the situation and the fact that his contract was about to run out, there had previously been multiple reports that both sides were negotiating a buyout that would lead to his exit. As it turns out, those talks finally resulted in a deal as the Angels and Rendon agreed to a contract restructuring that will end his tumultuous tenure in LA and presumably lead to him retiring from baseball altogether.

Angels finally rid themselves of Anthony Rendon after contract restructuring ends his brutal tenure

The details are still sparse, but it looks like the Angels are going to defer the remaining money due to Rendon over the next 3-5 years. That lessens the financial hit to the team on a per year basis and allows Rendon to leave the game of baseball which, to be blunt, is not much different in reality than how things were when he was technically on the roster, but riding the training table and the bench.

This was always how this story was going to end. Rendon did precious little to endear himself to fans and maintain a healthy working relationship with the Angels. Getting injured isn't really his fault per se, but his commitment to getting back in shape and getting on the field again was under his control. At some point, a guy just wanting to get paid and not put in the work to stay on the field can only achieve so much and the Angels were smart to try and cut the cord even though it comes years too late.

What is important now is seeing what the Angels do now that they are not dealing with Rendon being on their payroll. If we know Arte Moreno, he is going to stay the course and not spend a nickel more than he has to. After all, Rendon is still technically getting paid in the end. However, it would be nice to see the team reinvest Rendon's money into the roster and turn this team into a realistic contender.