Rendon looks different; Nats hope he’s the same

Trea Turner was stunned when he walked into the Nationals spring clubhouse last week. Anthony Rendon, his locker neighbor, had a close-cropped haircut. His long hair was gone, a casualty of an offseason wedding.

“It’s different. I don’t know if he looks younger or skinnier,” Turner said.

The Nationals can hope it’s the only significant change for Rendon in 2018. Still one of baseball’s under-the-radar elite players, Rendon finished fifth in the National League MVP voting last season after not making the NL All-Star team.

He finished with career highs in batting average (.301), home runs (25), doubles (41), on-base percentage (.403) and slugging percentage (.533).

He was one of three qualified batters in baseball to compile more walks (84) than strikeouts (82). All while playing at an elite level at third base.

“I tried to drive the ball more,” the 27-year-old Rendon said Wednesday morning. “I wouldn’t necessarily say I tried to Daniel Murphy it and launch angle and tried to hit it at a certain degree, but I did take one of his terms: Get my A-swing, I guess you could say.”

New Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long, the man credited for unleashing Murphy’s potential with the New York Mets in 2015, wasn’t one of the people overlooking Rendon.

“I’m leaving Anthony Rendon (alone),” Long said. “He’s one guy I’m not going to be able to help out too much.”

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