I wrote Tuesday night that the Angels should take the pile of cash they'd set aside for Gerrit Cole and give it to Anthony Rendon instead. They did so Wednesday and arguably got a better deal for their money, though it doesn't solve their most glaring deficiency: starting pitching. Rendon makes the Angels a lot better, though, just as their direct rivals in the AL West, the Astros, are facing the loss of a 7-win starter in Cole.
The Angels got almost nothing from their third basemen last year -- a .243/.306/.345 line, with slightly above-average defense -- which amounts to decent performance from David Fletcher when he played there and other guys who hit like pitchers when Fletcher played somewhere else. Rendon is a fast 5- to 6-win upgrade, and his arrival means the Angels can platoon Fletcher (a right-handed hitter) and Luis Rengifo (a switch-hitter who's much better left-handed) at second base, upgrading that position as well. This is a strong defensive infield, with Andrelton Simmons the best defensive shortstop in baseball, and the team now has an above-average defender at third with the potential for the same at second.
The seven-year deal takes the Angels into Rendon's late 30s, covering his age-30 through age-36 seasons. There will probably be some offensive decline in that period, but not soon, and I have hope that his decline will be more gradual than that of most hitters because his plate discipline is so good and his swing is very simple. Age catches up to every hitter eventually, but if Rendon's bat speed starts to slip, he has less work and distance to get the bat to the ball than most hitters do. There might be some regret for the Angels near the end of this deal, but it'll be nothing compared to the soul-crushing regret they must feel for giving Albert Pujols a 10-year deal at the start of his decline.
The Angels are not, however, up with the Astros yet. This club won 72 games last season, and Rendon isn't getting them to 90 wins by himself. They have to do something about the rotation, which had no pitcher with 20 starts last season. Newly acquired Dylan Bundy isn't the answer, surviving on guile and changing speeds because overuse cost him his fastball.
L.A. should be in on every remaining starting pitcher on the market: Hyun-Jin Ryu, Madison Bumgarner, Wade Miley, Ivan Nova and the rest. The Angels should sign two starters. If they can trade for one, they should, though I'm not sure there's a high-end starter available just yet. In for a penny, in for a pound.
The Nationals, meanwhile, don't have a ready replacement for Rendon -- not even someone who projects as an average regular in 2020. They could play Carter Kieboom at third and Howie Kendrick at second, which probably leaves them worse off but not appreciably so. Rumors linking Washington to Josh Donaldson on a shorter-term deal make sense, rather than the Nationals' owners just pocketing the savings on Rendon and fielding a lesser team. There isn't another position at which the Nats have a need, and Donaldson is a free agent who's a clear and significant upgrade.
The Rangers also reportedly made a strong offer to Rendon, who would have been just as big of an improvement for them as he is for the Angels, and they could also turn to Donaldson. But as a team further from immediate contention, the Rangers might prefer someone younger with a longer period of expected production -- an option that doesn't exist in free agency at the moment -- or see if the Cubs are serious about trading Kris Bryant.