SAN DIEGO – Third baseman Anthony Rendon and the Los Angeles Angels agreed to a $245 million, seven-year contract Wednesday, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced and was subject to a successful physical.
Rendon is the third prized free agent to strike a big-money deal at this week’s baseball winter meetings. He’ll join three-time MVPs Mike Trout and Albert Pujols on a team that’s made just one postseason appearance in the past decade.
The Angels had missed out on free agent right-hander Gerrit Cole, who agreed to a record $324 million, nine-year contract with the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, a person familiar with the deal told the AP.
“With our flexibility, if we miss a big player, there’s still very talented players that are accessible in the free agent and trade market right now,” Angels general manager Billy Eppler said earlier Wednesday.
Rendon, who has played all seven of his major league seasons with Washington, drove in a career-best 126 runs while helping the Nationals capture the franchise’s first World Series championship this year.
His 19.9 Wins Above Replacement, per Fangraphs, over the past four seasons trails only Trout, Boston’s Mookie Betts and Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich among position players.
Rendon is the latest big-money signing by owner Arte Moreno, following Pujols, Shohei Ohtani, Josh Hamilton and C.J. Wilson.
“We’re within some structure of a budget and a payroll forecast that you relatively want to be near and then we just take those opportunities to Arte and see if he’ll grant us the permission to do those things,” Eppler said. “There’s good players out there and players that warrant some sizeable contracts. I know the players that he likes.”
In other MLB news, the baseballs weren’t juiced during a record-setting 2019 regular season, according to a study commissioned by Major League Baseball.
They were just flying farther.
A four-person committee of scientists found that baseballs this year had less drag on average than in previous seasons, contributing to a power surge that resulted in a record number of home runs. Their report released Wednesday blamed the spike on inconsistencies in the seam height of the baseballs, as well as “changes in player behavior.” Batters connected 6,776 times in the regular season, smashing the record of 6,105 set in 2017.
The committee said it did not find evidence that MLB intentionally altered the baseballs and believes the inconsistencies were due to “manufacturing variability.” The balls are hand-sewn by workers at Rawlings’ factory in Costa Rica.
“We have never been asked to juice or de-juice a baseball,” said Rawlings President and CEO Michael Zlaket. “And we’ve never done anything of the sort. Never would.”
The 27-page report was authored by physics professor Alan Nathan, statistics professor Jim Albert, mechanical engineering and mathematics professor Peko Hosoi and mechanical engineering professor Lloyd Smith.
A series of recommendations were provided. The scientists say MLB should consider installing humidors at all 30 ballparks “to reduce the variability in storage conditions,” and install atmospheric tracking systems in each stadium.
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Source : Baseball – The Japan Times