Rendon's season-ending pain? 'I had no legs'

ANAHEIM -- Anthony Rendon’s second season with the Angels was anything but what he expected.

The Halos' third baseman had three stints on the injured list before being shut down for the season on Aug. 4 with a right hip impingement.

The 31-year-old hit the IL for the first time in 2021 on April 12 with a left groin strain and returned two weeks later. Then, he was sidelined from May 5 to May 14 with a left knee contusion after fouling a ball off his knee in game against the Rays.

Rendon was moved to the 10-day IL for the third time on July 6 with a left hamstring strain. His third stint on the IL was not expected to be lengthy. It was during his rehab process that his right hip impingement was highlighted as the major issue for the reoccurring non-contact injuries (aside from the left knee contusion).

"I was confused on why I would have multiple non-contact injuries in the first half a season, be on the IL three times,” Rendon said. “We kind of just did some more digging on why this was happening to me and kind of came to the conclusion it was the right hip. And then we shut everything down.”

Rendon said he had felt the issue early in the season. The right hip issue was identified after Rendon met with specialists and had conversations with people who had similar issues in the past.

“I know what I was feeling, but I didn't know what it was stemming from, if that makes any sense,” he said. “It just felt like I had no legs, you know what I mean? Obviously, your legs are a crucial part in this game, from fielding a ground ball and getting your legs [under you], and obviously hitting -- it just felt weak. I couldn't rotate, couldn't internally rotate and [had] a stabbing pain going into [my] hip. It felt like a clamp was grabbing the front of my hip and the back of my butt. That's not a good feeling on a daily basis."

The former All-Star third baseman and two-time Silver Slugger winner finished his season after playing in just 58 games and batting .240/.329/.382 with six home runs and 34 RBIs.

Rendon’s first season with the Halos was limited to 52 games primarily due to the shortened 2020 season. He batted .286 with a .915 OPS and drove in 31 runs and belted nine homers.

Marsh looking for adjustments

Since getting called up to the Majors, Brandon Marsh has had a slow start to his first stint with the Angels.

Marsh, the Angels' No. 1 prospect and No. 35 overall according to MLB Pipeline, has batted .155 with a .471 OPS in his first 24 big league games. He came into Thursday's game having driven in just two runs and still in search of his first career MLB homer.

Angels manager Joe Maddon said Marsh has continued working with hitting coach Jeremy Reed and other Angels coaches to work on adapting to seeing big league pitching.

“We just got to get him out there and continue to play him," Maddon said. "He also needs to make a little bit of an adjustment that they're working on right now. Nothing staggering; it happens to a lot of young players when they get an opportunity. I have a lot of faith in him and his athleticism, so let's just see what happens with the early work today and see if we could carry it into the game.”