Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon hasn't played in a game since July 4. On Friday, Rendon told reporters that he's had a fractured tibia the entire time he's been injured (via the Orange County Register's Jeff Fletcher). Rendon said he learned the diagnosis a few weeks ago and he doesn't know why the Angels didn't reveal the injury sooner.
During the entire time he's been hurt, basically until Friday, Rendon has mostly refused to talk to the media to give any updates on his status. On Aug. 23, manager Phil Nevin said his status "depends on which day you ask him." "It comes and goes each day," he told reporters, including The Athletic's Sam Blum.
As such, it's basically been a total mystery as to what is going on until this announcement from Rendon. It remains a total mystery why it wasn't revealed sooner.
Rendon, 33, is in the fourth year of a seven-year, $245 million contract with the Angels. The first year of the deal was 2020 and Rendon played in 52 of the 60 games that season. Since then, he's only managed 148 games in three seasons combined. He's hit .249/.359/.399 (109 OPS+) in his time with the Angels compared to .290/.369/.490 (126 OPS+) in his Nationals years before this signing.
The Angels are 68-79 at present and have played a good portion of the year without Mike Trout. They lost the pitching side of Shohei Ohtani in late August due to a torn UCL. Ohtani is set to hit free agency and seems destined to leave while it seems like maybe the door is open for Trout to be traded this offseason. Rendon, however, isn't likely to go anywhere unless the Angels eat almost all his remaining salary.
