This offseason, the Angels and Rendon agreed to restructure his contract as he steps away from the team, providing the team with a little more payroll flexibility.
Arenado’s situation is far more manageable. With just two years remaining at $16 million and $15 million dollars, respectively, the financial risk is significantly lower. With spreading the remaining money owed to Rendon across the next few seasons, they can use those savings to pursue an upgrade such as Arenado.
As spring training approaches, the Angels are currently looking at Christian Moore, Vaughn Grissom, Oswaldo Peraza, and Kyren Paris as internal options at third base. Even at this stage of his career, Arenado would represent a meaningful upgrade both offensively and defensively.
While expectations should remain realistic, the Angels’ offense is not as far away as it may seem. The lineup posted an OPS of at least .725 in May, June, and July of last season before fading late. With Zach Neto, Jo Adell, Jorge Soler, Logan O’Hoppe, and Mike Trout expected back, adding Arenado could stabilize the middle of the order and elevate the infield defense.
Trout’s timeline also matters. With the Angels seemingly unwilling to move him, the organization faces increasing pressure to build a competitive roster around one of the greatest players of his generation. Baseball fans everywhere deserve to see Trout and Arenado playing meaningful baseball in October one last time.
Reuniting two former top prospects from 2012 would not only improve the roster but also re-energize a fan base searching for optimism.