Familiar face Elvis Andrus easing into role as A’s shortstop
A’s fans have seen Elvis Andrus an awful lot through the years. But never like this.
After 12 seasons with the AL West rival Texas Rangers, Andrus will be at shortstop for the A’s in their season opener against the Houston Astros on Thursday night at the Coliseum.
The 32-year-old arrived this winter in a surprising trade that sent fan favorite Khris Davis to Arlington. The deal helped fill a glaring need in the A’s infield, created some muchneeded payroll flexibility, and provided an opportunity for Andrus to show he can still produce consistently as an everyday shortstop.
The two-time All-Star was slowed by a back injury in 2020 and had lost his starting job with the rebuilding Rangers to Isaiah Kiner-Falefa. The A’s saw an opportunity. They had resigned themselves to losing 2019 MVP finalist Marcus Semien in free agency, and began sniffing around for an available Andrus in November.
Then in February, that A’s got Andrus, catcher Aramis Garcia and $13.5 million in a trade for Davis, promising catcher Jonah Heim and minor-league pitcher Dane Acker.
Andrus needed to approve the trade, but he says the chance to join a contending team in the latter part of his career was a no-brainer. It made a lot of sense for the A’s, too.
In addition to adding an established shortstop to an already solid infield, the always creative A’s were able to use the cash obtained from the Rangers to help pay for some of the team-high $14 million Andrus will make this season and shore up other areas, including the addition of closer Trevor Rosenthal on an $11.5 million, one-year deal.
But will Andrus, who is only two years older than Semien, find a new home with his longtime rival? So far, so good.
“I am pleasantly surprised at how well he fits in here,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said during camp. “Because I’ve been on other teams, too, and I know there’s some uncomfortableness going into a new team, especially a team in the division that you’ve been competing with. But his personality would suggest that he probably can get along anywhere and do it very quickly. And he really adds a dynamic to our dugout that maybe we were lacking a little bit. He is not afraid to speak his mind.”
Andrus said he’s feeling at home, too, though admittedly it was strange when he put a new team’s jersey on for the first time in his big league career. Andrus has played in 194 games against the A’s since making his debut in the majors as a 20-year-old in 2009. The Angels are the only opponent he’s faced more.
“When I put on the green for the first time, I was like, ‘OK, that was a little weird,’” Andrus recently told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I think when I play against the Rangers, that’s when it’s going to hit me. Right now my mentality is just, ‘Let’s get back. Let’s win.’ But probably when I get to the ballpark, it’ll sink it a little bit.”
Andrus, whose 305 career stolen bases are second among all active players, is already drawing a following of A’s players curious about the science of swiping bases, including Ramón Laureano.
A’s new designated hitter Mitch Moreland played with Andrus in Texas from 2010 to 2016. He saw the kind of draw Andrus has with his teammates.
“Elvis was kind of that guy in Texas,” Moreland said. “He was big in the community, he was very popular in the clubhouse, among the people in the stadium. Elvis has a lot of the same characteristics that from what I saw Marcus had. Marcus is kind of that guy, like a glue guy, and Elvis is the same way.
“He keeps it fun, he keeps it light. He’s so smart on the field it seems like he’s two plays ahead of what’s going on in the game. Elvis has always had that. He’s a complete ballplayer.”
Andrus worked extensively with Oakland native and thenTexas Rangers coach Gary Pettis on the art of the stolen base in his early years with the team that drafted him.
Despite his injury last season, the A’s are encouraging him to play like he always has. Andrus stole 31 bases at age 30 in 2019. He’s hoping to work with the stolen base king, Rickey Henderson, to get even better.
“Bob told me he wanted me to be myself,” Andrus said in a call with reporters when camp started. “For me to go out there and do what I’ve been doing. Being smart, staying healthy, but I’m planning to steal a lot of bases this year.”
Seeing Andrus fly between bases in green and gold would be a bonus. Generally, the concern with Andrus is whether he can return to his 2019 form overall. After sustaining his back injury in 2020, Andrus didn’t have much time to rebound. He played just 29 games for the Rangers and batted .194 with a .582 OPS. Contrast that with the .275 average he maintained over the first 11 years of his career.
Can Andrus get back to his consistent hitting? Spring isn’t always the best indication. Maintaining health is the priority, and veterans like Andrus don’t see results from spring progressions until the last
week of games. That’s shown in Andrus’ performance. A slow start at the plate (3-for-25) over his first 10 games ended with Andrus 5-for-17 in the final five.
“He’s swinging the bat probably better now than he was early in camp,” Melvin said. “But I think we’re trying to get to know him and let him be himself as opposed to going to him and saying, OK these are drastic changes we need to see right now.”
The A’s coaching staff will get more hands-on as the regular season approaches. Having seen Andrus from the other side of the division rivalry for years, assistant hitting coach Eric Martins and the A’s staff knew what they were getting. Not a 20-plus home run hitter — Andrus has only done that once and only has two double-digit home run seasons on his resume — but he profiles as the type of hitter Oakland prefers. He has a strong eye, can control the zone and can drive the ball gapto-gap.
If Andrus’ career is dropping off, the A’s staff doesn’t see it.
“There’s no indication he can’t return to form from what we’ve seen,” Martins said. “He looks good, healthy. He’s a seasoned pro. He has a lot in the tank and a lot for the team. The young guys with Chappy (Matt Chapman) and Oly (Matt Olson) and (Chad) Pinder, the thrill and excitement is rubbing off on Elvis more. He likes those guys, and it’s hard not to because they bring a passion to the game every day.”