Washington Nationals Offer More Than $200 Million to Anthony Rendon

MLB team, Washington Nationals are desperate to retain All-Star third baseman Anthony Rendon. Rendon is expected to head into free agency and become one of the most coveted free agents during the offseason. However, the Nationals put forward a mouth-watering offer in the faint hope of enticing him to stay.

According to a Washington Post report, the club offered Rendon a seven-year contract worth $210 million to $215 million. However, this hefty sum is still not expected to keep the NL MVP candidate from testing the free agent waters when the season ends.

The 29-year old hasn’t been very vocal about his future, but he has indicated he plans to solicit offers from other teams, in addition to the Nationals, this offseason.

Anthony Rendon is represented by agent Scott Boras, who also counts former Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper and current Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg among his clients.

Boras has taken decidedly different approaches with those two superstars in their most recent deals.

Harper left Washington last offseason for a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, while Strasburg signed a seven-year, $175 million extension with the Nationals in 2016 — six months before he would have been eligible for free agency.

Rendon will become a free agent after having the best season of his seven-year career. He hit .319 with 34 home runs and led the majors with 126 RBI.

The Nationals play the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday in the NL wild-card game, with the winner to meet the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series.

This is not the first time the Nationals have splashed for cash, last season, they offered a $300 million contract to Bryce Harper to remain. Surprisingly, he turned it down and was eventually signed by the Philadephia Phillies for an astounding $330 million.

Anthony Rendon has hit a career-best .319/.412/.598 with 34 home runs while cutting his strikeouts to a career-best 13.3 percent while league average is nearly double that.