Perry Minasian relying on Anthony Rendon gives bad omen to 2024 season already

The Los Angeles Angels made the decision to sign Anthony Rendon to a seven-year deal after he had led the Nationals to a World Series title. The signing gave the Angels another superstar to pair with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani and was hopefully going to be enough to bring the Angels back to the playoffs at the very least.

Rendon got off to a good start in 2020 but the contract has looked abysmal since. He's barely played and when he has played he has not played well. He's made more noise off the field than on it. He's disliked by a majority of the fanbase and there are still three more years left of him in the organization.

Many Angels fans want the Angels to just bite the bullet and release Rendon after another lost year in 2023. Perry Minasian however, still believes in the third baseman. At least that's what he said publicly. If true, that should frustrate Angels fans.

LA Angels cannot rely on Anthony Rendon to provide any positive contributions whatsoever

When speaking to reporters earlier this week, Perry Minasian said he expects Rendon to come in on a mission to help the team go where it needs to go. Sounds great, but how in the world can you think any Angels fan would buy that?

2023 felt like the final year Rendon had to prove himself to the Angels fanbase before they wrote him off forever. Rendon was getting Comeback Player of the Year buzz by Minasian before the season started, and then had an incredible showing in Spring Training. He even got off to a good start offensively in the regular season, hitting at a .301 clip through mid-May. Unfortunately, he landed on the IL for the first time in May and battled through many dings the rest of the way. He'd appear in 13 games the rest of the season and finish with a .678 OPS.

Rendon has never appeared in more than 58 games in a season with the Angels. He's never recorded more than 54 hits or nine home runs in a single season. He's been a shell of the player he once was. Even if he plays more games, who's to say he'll be close to productive?

While Rendon should be considered the starting third baseman for now, the Angels need to bring in a viable backup for when Rendon lands on the IL again. Gio Urshela was a great fit for the role before his season ended due to injury. The Angels clearly did not rely on him last season with the Urshela addition, so I'm not sure what makes Minasian expect he can be the guy they thought he'd be in 2024.

Hopefully this is just Minasian trying to hype his player up in front of the media and he'll add the depth the Angels need him to at third base behind Rendon.