Anthony Rendon’s recent comments have drawn the ire of many MLB fans and media personnel. Now, one of his old teammates is joining in on the public bashing.
On Monday, Rendon admitted to reporters that baseball has “never been a top priority for me.”
“This is a job. I do this to make a living,” Rendon said, per ESPN. “My faith, my family come first before this job. So if those things come before it, I’m leaving.”
These remarks didn’t sit right with former All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon, who was teammates with Rendon for 1.5 seasons on the Nationals from 2015-16.
“Every single day this guy shows up to go out, it was like a chore,” Papelbon said of Rendon’s time in Washington on the “Foul Territory” podcast. “He strictly got away with just raw athleticism and just raw talent. And you can do that … but there’s a reason why he’s not as successful as he really, truly could be. He’s got more raw talent than the three of us combined, but he just doesn’t give a s–.”
While playing for the Nationals from 2013-19, Rendon was one of the MLB’s premier third basemen. He slashed .290/.369/.490 over 916 games with Washington and received MVP votes in four different seasons — finishing as high as third in the 2019 NL MVP race.
Thanks to his strong play, Rendon earned himself a monster deal courtesy of the Angels. Los Angeles signed the corner infielder to a seven-year, $245 million contract — a deal that Papelbon knew back in 2019 was a bad move.
“I knew that when he became a free agent … I was like, ‘whoever gets that dude is going to get totally bamboozled; it’s going to be the worst deal in history,'” Papelbon said. “And it’s proven that way.”
Rendon has failed to even come close to replicating the success he had in Washington with the Angels. A myriad of injuries have sidelined him for the majority of the last three years, with the 33-year-old failing to reach 60 games in any season.
Over a career-low 43 contests in 2023, he boasted a meager .236/.361/.318 slash line.
Though Rendon still has three years remaining on his contract, Papelbon argued the Angels should look to cut ties well before 2026.
“I’ll be honest with you, if I’m the Angels GM, I’m trying to get rid of this dude as fast as I can,” Papelbon said.
