MLB Rumors: Anthony Rendon, the free agent third baseman who the Texas Rangers have atop their offseason wish list, and who is also being aggressively pursued by a number of other teams, has previously said he wants to retire at age 35, which has led to speculation that he would be seeking a shorter term, high AAV deal. However, in Ken Rosenthal’s pre-Winter Meetings writeup of the state of the hot stove, Rosenthal says that Scott Boras, Rendon’s agent, is soliciting 7 year deals for the 29 year old.
The Rangers have reportedly been identified by a number of observers as a favorite to land Rendon, who is a Texas native, and who attended Rice University. The Rangers apparently see him as the type of veteran star who will age well while providing a solid presence in the clubhouse, and landing Rendon appears to be the team’s top priority this offseason.
Rendon has a career .290/.369/.490 slash line and, in the five seasons he has played the majority of the year, he has generally been a 4 to 6 win player. His bat has improved significantly over the past three seasons, as he has slashed .310/.397/.556 since 2017.