Keeping Anthony Rendon?
Next, we come to the case for the Washington Nationals extending Anthony Rendon over Bryce Harper. This seems to be the most popular choice among most Nats fans in this debate.
The main reason for this is going to be the financial side of the equation. Harper is likely to command something in the range of $350 million on his new contract, with roughly $35 million average annual value.
Rendon, on the other hand, will likely command less, and he would also probably receive fewer years. You can probably expect something along the lines of a five-year deal with an annual average of about $25 million for the Nats’ third baseman.
So not only could Rendon be about $10 million cheaper in terms of AAV, which counts against the luxury tax, you’d also be locked in for less time. That would allow more flexibility if they needed to lock in Trea Turner, and potentially even Juan Soto and Victor Robles further down the line.
But let’s not forget what Anthony Rendon brings to the table as a player. As we covered in the last slide, the batting stats are pretty clearly in favor of Harper, but Rendon excels in the fielding stats.
According to FanGraphs, Rendon’s only negative Defensive Rating season was his rookie year back in 2013. Worth noting about 2013, is that he primarily played second base that year, with Ryan Zimmerman still manning the hot corner.
Funnily enough, Harper’s only positive Defensive Rating season was also his rookie year in 2012. And while most years, he’s still finished pretty close to zero, 2018 was by far and away his worst season on defense.
The Nats would be able to lock down the hot corner for several more years if they chose to extend Rendon. The outfield situation would be fine with Soto, Robles and Adam Eaton, and they would be able to spend money on other needs.