Anthony Rendon is headed back to the injured list. The Los Angeles Angels placed their beleaguered third baseman on the IL Sunday morning with a left hamstring strain.
Rendon suffered the injury in the first inning of Saturday’s game while running out an infield single. Manager Ron Washington said he’ll be examined Monday.
The 33-year-old has spent much of his Angels tenure on the IL. In 2021, he played just 58 games, with his season being cut short due to a hip injury. Wrist surgery limited him to 47 games in 2022. And a bone bruise ended his season in early July of last year, after playing just 42 games.
The severity of Rendon’s hamstring injury is unclear. Infielder Ehire Adrianza was called up to fill his roster spot.
In 2019, Rendon signed a seven-year, $245 million contract with the Angels months after winning the World Series with the Washington Nationals. But his tenure in Anaheim has been rocky and chaotic. Beyond the time missed, Rendon’s relationship with the fans has been strained. He’s spoken publicly about considering retirement and declined to say that he wanted to be with the Angels when asked at the outset of this year’s spring training.
Still, he has strung together a stretch of solid hitting in recent weeks. After beginning the year 0-for-21, Rendon has since gone 20-for-62. His days as a slugger might be over — he has no homers and just three doubles. But Rendon was working good at-bats and setting the table effectively as the leadoff hitter.
His injury leaves the Angels in a precarious position. Despite stating that they wanted to field a competitive roster, the front office did little to address depth issues on the infield. Adrianza, who will turn 35 this season, has played in only 42 MLB games in the last two seasons, and the options behind him are limited.
Rendon’s injury also forces the team to rely on young infielders like Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel, who have struggled significantly on offense this year.
“[I’m feeling] not too great,” Rendon told MLB.com after his injury Saturday. “Frustration. Anger. Mad. Any of those adjectives you want to use.”
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(Photo: Katharine Lotze / Getty Images)
