Rendon open to signing extension with Nats

WASHINGTON -- Anthony Rendon has spent his entire career in the Nationals' organization, and he enjoys the comfort he has. Taking that into consideration, Rendon said during the Nationals Winterfest on Sunday that he would be open to the possibility of staying in Washington long term.
Rendon is in his second year of arbitration eligibility and cannot become a free agent until 2020, but after two healthy and productive seasons, including a career year in 2017, perhaps the time to begin those discussions is now for the Nationals.
"I want to stay with one organization," Rendon said. "It's a great organization. It's great to see how we've changed over the years."

That being said, Rendon is unlikely to take a large role in his contract negotiations.
Rendon was not sure whether his agent, Scott Boras, would meet with the Nationals to discuss a potential contract extension this offseason. Boras said at the Winter Meetings this week that those conversations usually come up when arbitration discussions take place in January.
"That's up to them," Rendon said. "That's why I hired them. I dropped out of school. That's why I got them. I can just focus on playing. They'll work out all the kinks. Whatever happens, happens."
Rendon finished sixth in the voting for the National League Most Valuable Player Award after putting together the best season of his five-year career. He compiled a slash line of .301/.403/.533 with 25 home runs, 100 RBIs and 6.9 Wins Above Replacement, all of which were career highs. And for the second consecutive season, Rendon showed he can stay healthy after early knocks on him focused on his durability. He played in 147 games in 2017 and 156 games in '16 after just 80 in '15.

All that has made the 27-year-old Rendon a popular candidate for a contract extension. The Nationals could try and secure him as one of the long-term centerpieces to continue to build around.
"It's something we'll certainly discuss," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said this week at the Winter Meetings. "Anthony's a big part of what we do here, a homegrown player that's a great performer and a guy that's a core piece of our organization."