There it goes – the third base market is taking off tonight, and it’s about to get nuts.
The Angels are trying to finalize a deal for Anthony Rendon:
#Angels in active talks on Rendon, sources tell The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 12, 2019
#LAAngels are working hard on Anthony Rendon. As mentioned here yesterday, owner Arte Moreno is a huge fan @Ken_Rosenthal is on it
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 12, 2019
#Angels trying to get Rendon done tonight, sources tell The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 12, 2019
And Scott Boras hinted that it might be happening:
https://twitter.com/NBCSChicago/status/1204958567339634688
And if Rendon to the Angels does go down, the Rangers are going to pivot quickly to Josh Donaldson:
Would think Rangers are on phone quickly to Josh Donaldson's reps.
Could get Rangers engaged with Yankees on Miguel Andujar or Cubs on Kris Bryant. https://t.co/KzGaeki4ov
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) December 12, 2019
Rangers went into the process not wanting to go more than five years for Rendon and Scott Boras made it clear that seven years what clubs were offering
— TR Sullivan (@Sullivan_Ranger) December 12, 2019
The Angels look likd they are the favorites to sign Anthony REndon… The Rangers had one meeting with Scott Boras and nothing more…. Rangers attention is now on Josh Donaldson
— TR Sullivan (@Sullivan_Ranger) December 12, 2019
The Rangers have the money, and the Dodgers – the other major Rendon loser – have generally not been connected to Donaldson. So it would make sense that the Donaldson to the Rangers could happen quickly, unless the Nationals get involved.
Obviously there are Bryant market implications here, as Rendon to the Angels and Donaldson to the Rangers would leave the two most attractive possible trade partners (the Braves and the Dodgers) still out there looking for a big bat at third base. We’ll see how this plays out tonight.
UPDATE: There it is – Rendon gets big, big money from the Angels:
Anthony Rendon got seven years and $245 million from the Angels, source tells ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 12, 2019
That’s right around the range of the remaining Nolan Arenado deal (7/$234M), so it makes sense as a target.
With the Angels landing Rendon, the Dodgers have officially missed out on big-money target number two of the offseason. They aren’t in on Donaldson, so we’ll see if they still try to add a big bat in another way, or if they just spend on a starter like Madison Bumgarner or Hyun-Jin Ryu.
UPDATE 2: Nationals and Donaldson may still be a thing:
The #Nats remain very aggressive on Josh Donaldson
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 12, 2019
Wouldn’t be quite as desirable as if he landed with Rangers, but if Nationals aren’t going to be aggressive on KB anyway (i.e., Robles or Kieboom-level aggressive (plus-plus), then meh. Indeed, I guess you could make the argument that Donaldson to the Nationals might make the Braves a little more eager to make a move for Bryant.
UPDATE 3: Joel Sherman keeping the Phillies in the mix:
With Rendon off board, Josh Donaldson’s market becomes clearer with 3b hungry teams: #Dodgers #Rangers and (key) 3 in NL East: #Phillies #Nationals #Braves. Phils’ budget might be too tight but rest will assure Donaldson a strong pay day. Then Cubs could act with Bryant
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 12, 2019