Angels-Anthony Rendon divorce should have Tigers fans thankful for Javy Báez

Sometimes, all it takes is watching another fanbase walk through fire to realize that maybe — just maybe — our version of misery isn’t the worst thing in the world.

And Los Angeles Angels fans? They just lived through baseball hell.

Anthony Rendon and the Angels have officially gone their separate ways, with the club restructuring his contract to defer the remaining $38 million while also ensuring he never plays for them again.

Seven years. $245 million. And in return? A total of 257 games, a .242/.348/.369 slash line, 22 homers and a whole lot of IL time. Out of 1,032 possible games with the Angels, Rendon suited up for less than a quarter of them.

That’s not a contract gone bad. That’s a contract evaporated. And it’s why Tigers fans should feel pretty grateful for Javy Báez right about now.

For all the justified groaning, the whiffs, the offensive black holes we endured early in his Detroit tenure … at least Báez actually played. At least he tried to work through it. At least there was accountability. And eventually — finally — there was a rebound.

Tigers' Javy Báez contract looks much better in light of Angels-Anthony Rendon divorce

Remember how ugly 2022 and 2023 were? The strikeouts. The slump piles. The national ridicule. Báez's contract felt like an anchor tied around the rebuild’s ankle.

But Javy didn’t disappear. He didn’t stop showing up. He didn’t become a ghost. Instead, he reinvented himself. He got better. He evolved. He even became a 2025 All-Star — at a position he’d never played before. Who saw that coming?

Rather than wasting time or fading into IL purgatory, Báez leaned into his athleticism, found ways to contribute, and slowly chipped away at the narrative that he was done. He didn’t magically become 2018 Cubs Javy again — but he turned an early disaster into something respectable. Something useful. Something that mattered to the Tigers.

Meanwhile in Anaheim? Rendon simply … vanished. Not just physically — but spiritually. The bat disappeared. The fire disappeared. The availability disappeared. The relationship with the team dissolved into awkward PR statements and strained silence. It became one of the worst mega-signings in MLB history.

So when Tigers fans say, “Javy’s contract is brutal,” sure. It hasn’t been sunshine. It hasn’t been value. It hasn’t been painless. But in the grand spectrum of regrettable signings? Things could be so much worse.

We could be watching $245 million transform into dust. We could be arguing about whether a star player even likes baseball. We could be trapped in a circus where the only headline is “Still not playing.” Instead, we’ve watched Báez scrap his way back into relevance, become a leader in the room, adjust defensively, and at least make something out of his time in Detroit.

Báez didn’t run from the moment. He didn’t fade away. Frankly, that matters –– because spending is always a gamble. Stars don’t always stay stars. Contracts age. Fans panic. Teams pray.

Sometimes you get a Rendon, and sometimes you get Báez — messy, complicated, frustrating … but still present. Still battling. Still making himself useful to the cause.

Tigers fans can be annoyed by the deal and realistic about the value. But also? Be grateful we didn’t wind up with the nuclear version.