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Oft-injured Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon is having hip surgery and is expected to miss a significant amount of time, general manager Perry Minasian said Wednesday.
After signing a seven-year, $245 million contract and debuting with the Angels during the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season, Rendon, 34, has not played more than 58 games in any season. He had a 1.010 OPS with 34 home runs and a major-league-leading 126 RBIs in 2019, but his OPS over five years with the Angels is just .717.
He has played in only 205 games and missed 438 since the start of the 2021 season.
Rendon had three stints on the injured list with hamstring, back and oblique issues in 2024, finishing the season with a .218 batting average with no home runs and 14 RBIs in 206 at-bats.
His absence clears the way for free agent acquisition Yoan Moncada to be the starting third baseman. Moncada, a 29-year-old switch-hitter who signed a $5 million deal on Feb. 6, broke out in 2019 for the Chicago White Sox but slashed just .236/.291/.387 while playing in only 208 games over the past three seasons.
Last year, for a White Sox team that lost a record 121 games, Moncada played in only 12, sitting out five months because of an adductor strain. He returned Sept. 18, taking one at-bat, then sat out the rest of the season.
