Anthony Rendon added to his career-year, knocking in two runs in the Washington Nationals’ 11-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday. The Nats’ third baseman has now matched his career-high of 100 RBIs.
Rendon has already set a career-high with 27 home runs this season. He is also batting a career-high .323 with a 1.008 OPS. And it’s perfect timing. Rendon is in a contract year, and at the age of 29, trending towards being in his prime.
While reports suggest Rendon and his agent, Scott Boras, are seeking a deal along the lines of Houston Astros’ second baseman Jose Altuve, who signed a five-year, $151 million deal that will start in 2020.
Altuve signed the extension following his 2017 AL MVP season. Rendon is having a season MVP worthy, as illustrated by a tweet from the Nationals’ Twitter page.
Having a career-year in a contract year, being the best offensive player on your team and still being at a prime age while on a big market team, should be a no-brainer to getting a deal done. However, Rendon and the Nationals have not. The two sides have been off in negotiations, so much so, Rendon and Boras seem intent to reach free agency.
Rendon told 106.7 the Fan on Jul. 30 that he had not heard from the Nationals in “about a month” on contract negotiations. However, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo refuted Rendon’s claim the next day.
“He better call his agent, because we got a counter-proposal from his agent on July 15, so he better be in contact with him,” Rizzo told the Sports Junkies.
Thus we have a standoff. Meanwhile, Rendon is stating his case for a very lucrative deal. Nationals fans have been beckoning for Washington’s ownership to pony up Rendon wants. That’s considering how the team just lost out on homegrown talent Bryce Harper to their rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies.
A repeat of history could be devastating. The Nationals have overcome the loss of Harper, they had his replacement in their farm system with Juan Soto and Victor Robles — two stellar young talents. They are not as fortunate in Rendon’s case. Not at third base, not one that is as ready as Soto and Robles were.
For now, the focus is making the postseason and trying to overcome their playoff demons. Rendon has been the lead horse in a potent lineup that has scored 74 runs over the past seven games. Rendon says he is just focused on now, and by doing so, adding the dollars for his next contract, whether it’s from the Nationals or not.
