Los Angeles Angels are bringing Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani some help. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Angels came to an agreement with free-agent All-Star third baseman Anthony Rendon.
Passan reports that Rendon, one of the most coveted free agents this season, received a seven-year deal that will pay him $245 million. The deal doesn’t include an opt-out and contains a no-trade clause.
The deal will be finalized once Rendon passes his physical, and the official announcement is expected to be made by the end of the week.
Angels entered this offseason wanting to make a big splash with the free-agent signing that could help them make the playoffs for the first time since 2014. The team initially had star pitcher Gerrit Cole as their main target, but couldn’t compete with the offer from New York Yankees.
After missing out on Cole, Angels immediately turned to Rendon and quickly finalized the deal. Despite giving the 29-year-old a big deal, the team still has room to sign a quality starting pitcher with Hyun-Jin Ryu and Madison Bumgarner being among options.
Rendon will come to LA after a career season with Washington Nationals in which he helped the team won their first World Series. He also earned his first All-Star appearance and All-MLB Team honors, while leading the league in RBIs.
Rendon played 146 games in 2019 regular season, having .319 batting average, 34 home runs, and 126 RBIs. In the postseason, he hit .276 alongside two homers and eight RBIs.
