Washington Nationals Mock Offseason: Harper leaves, Rendon extended

Mock Anthony Rendon Contract Extension

Yes, we were actively and aggressively pursuing Bryce Harper in the FanSided Fake Offseason. But it was important to know when to back out and turn our attention to keeping Anthony Rendon in a Washington Nationals uniform for a long time.

It was painful enough to watch one superstar walk out the building, so after it was confirmed that Harper was leaving, it was important to be equally aggressive in extending Rendon. After an initial offer of $20 million per season over six years, Rendon’s fake agent made it clear that we needed to up money involved.

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After a quick back-and-forth, we came to an agreement that involved paying the third baseman $25 million per season for six years, with a team option for a seventh season. This would keep Rendon under contract through his age-34 season, with the potential to keep him until he his 35, should his production hold up.

Here’s a full breakdown of how the fake extension will look for the third baseman:

• Year One: $18 million
• Year Two: $22 million
• Year Three: $25 million
• Year Four: $25 million
• Year Five: $28 million
• Year Six: $30 million
• Team Option: $25 million
• Team Option has a $2 million buyout

Some may be surprised that it’s going to take that much to get Rendon to sign. The $150 million would rank him at 21st on the list of current active contracts, and the $25 million per season has him at tied with a few players for 10th highest annual average value.

But when you consider MLBTradeRumors would have him set to make $17.6 million in arbitration in 2019, $25 million comes as no surprise. When you consider that almost every year he’s played in D.C. he’s been a dark horse MVP candidate when healthy, it’s money well spent.

This was the biggest decision in the whole FanSided Simulation that fake GM Blake Finney had to make. In the end, given the money offered for Harper, it’s pretty safe to say the eventual outcome is a positive one and will allow for those precious fake funds to be invested elsewhere.

Keep an eye out on District on Deck as Blake Finney tries to craft his Washington Nationals roster in the fake GM Simulation along with the rest of the MLB FanSided sites.