The Los Angeles Angels are reportedly buying out Anthony Rendon's final year of his seven-year $245 million contract. The third baseman, who was set to earn $38 million in 2026, is speculated to head into retirement after a hip surgery that ruled him out of last season.Anthony Rendon's career trajectory has taken a massive turn following his World Series-winning campaign in 2019, where he recorded a 7.7 bWAR while with the Washington Nationals. However, following his mega deal with the Angels, injuries derailed his career. He has been reduced to 205 games over the last five seasons, completely missing all action in 2025. In the past, he has stated that he doesn't prioritize baseball and treats it as a job. He had opened up about his displeasure with the business side of the game last year in an interview with the MLB website.While he has been criticized for his comments, former Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels player Kevin Pillar came to his support during an interview on Foul Territory TV on Tuesday after the initial news broke.“Anthony Rendon is one of the most misunderstood players, maybe of all time,” Pillar claimed. “He’s very outspoken in his beliefs, but he’s not saying anything that some other players aren’t saying.”“People forget that baseball, to a lot of us — yes, we do love it and we’re passionate about it. But at the end of the day, it is a job,” Pillar added. “The joy for a lot of people, when you get to the major leagues, some of it is taken away from you. I felt it towards the end of my career.”Rendon hit at .299 for the Nationals from 2016 to 2019, hitting more than 38 home runs in each of those seasons, and finishing third in the American League MVP standings in 2019. His last home run for the Angels came back in the 2023 season.ESPN insider points out mega contracts "furthered the Angels' slide"In 2019, the Angels had also extended their three-time American League MVP Mike Trout to a twelve-year $426.5 million contract, alongside Rendon's deal. The future looked bright for the team, which was also developing Shohei Ohtani. But injuries to Rendon and even Trout, who has played over 100 games only twice in the past five seasons, led to their downfall.ESPN insider Aiden Gonzalez, who first broke the news about Rendon, pointed it out in his article."Rendon's albatross contract coincided with Mike Trout suffering a similar spate of bad injury luck," Gonzalez wrote. "The unavailability of those two players -- by far the team's highest paid -- coupled with an overall lack of depth throughout the roster, only furthered the Angels' slide despite the emergence of Shohei Ohtani as a two-way phenomenon.Their lack of success led to Ohtani's departure, and the team hasn't been able to attract free agents. Freeing up Rendon's deal will allow them little flexibility but a long-term rebuild is still in the works.