Angels' Rendon: 'Hard to say' if I can regain past form after injuries

Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon admitted that it may be difficult to recover the All-Star form that helped him earn a nine-figure contract.

"It's hard to say because it's been so long, battling injuries and surgeries for this long," Rendon told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. "I'm not getting any younger, but I'm going to continue to fight my ass off till I'm done."

Rendon's Angels tenure hasn't come close to what was expected of him since he signed a seven-year, $245-million deal in 2020 after winning a Silver Slugger and World Series championship with the Washington Nationals. The 34-year-old has only managed an OPS above .712 once over his five years with the Angels, during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. This year has been his worst yet, hitting .218/.307/.267 with zero home runs in 57 games.

Rendon's career stats by team

Injuries have been one of the root causes of his issues. Rendon has missed time due to hip, wrist, shin, hamstring, and back injuries over the last five seasons. He again was placed on the injured list Tuesday, this time with an oblique strain after his back flared up over the weekend.

"No idea," he said about what to do differently to stop his injuries. "If you have any recommendations, I'll take them. I feel like I've exhausted every blood test, DNA test, food, nutrition, allergies, anti-inflammatory stuff. And I have no idea. Everything that's not a banned substance."

Rendon drew criticism from around the baseball world in spring training when he claimed the sport had "never been a top priority for me." Many took those words to mean that he doesn't care, although he's consistently fought back against that sentiment. The 12-year veteran admitted to being upset by his declining performance and maintained that he's determined to try to turn it around for as long as he's in the majors.

"It's frustrating not being able to be the man that I once was or to be the player that I once was," Rendon said. "I gotta try to keep persevering, keeping fighting my ass off."