00:00Anthony Rendon will not join the Angels in 2026.
00:04In a move that underscores both financial pragmatism and the brutal realities of Major League Baseball,
00:10the Angels and Anthony Rendon have agreed to a restructured deal that effectively ends his on-field time with the team.
00:16The announcement marks a quietly dramatic turning point in one of the most disappointing high-profile signings of the last decade.
00:24From MVP candidate to major liability,
00:27Rendon, now 35, will not suit up in 2026,
00:31the final year of his original seven-year, $245 million contract signed in the winter of 2019.
00:38At the time, it was a celebratory moment for the Angels,
00:41a franchise in desperate need of offensive firepower to complement the once-in-a-generation talents of Mike Trout and, eventually, Shohei Ohtani.
00:49From a financial standpoint, the restructured deal will defer the $38.5 million he was due in 2026 over three to five years.
01:00Injuries took the reins.
01:02Production fell off a cliff.
01:03After an all-star caliber run in Washington, highlighted by back-to-back seasons with an OPS north of 900 and a starring role in the Nationals' 2019 World Series run,
01:14Rendon appeared in just 257 games over six seasons with the Angels.
01:19For perspective, there were 1,037 possible regular season games during that span.
01:25Injuries may have been the primary culprit, but the damage to both Rendon's reputation and the Angels' books was done all the same.
01:32The Angels' look to the future, hoping to escape the past.
01:37For the Angels, the move signals a belated but necessary shift toward the future.
01:41They won't recoup the performance Rendon was meant to deliver,
01:45but they may finally begin the long process of reallocating resources and redefining their next era.
01:51And both carry the weight of what might have been.
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