Andrus fits right in as A’s new everyday shortstop
A’s fans have seen Elvis Andrus an awful lot through the years. But never like this.
After 12 seasons with the 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 much-needed payroll flexibility for team, and is 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 to 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 for Davis, promising catcher Jonah Heim and minor-league pitcher Dane Acker.
Andrus needed to approve the trade, but he says flipping over to 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 $14 million Andrus will make this season (he’s their highestpaid player) and shore up other areas, including adding 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,” 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 jersey on for the first time in his big league career. Andrus 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 is already drawing a following of A’s players, including a young Ramón Laureano curious about the science of stealing bases. The speedy center fielder is hoping to steal a couple more. His 305 stolen bases are the most among active players.
A’s new designated hitter Mitch Moreland played with Andrus in Texas from 2010 to 2016.
“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 then-Texas 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.
Seeing Andrus fly between bases in green and gold like he was in 2019 would be a bonus. Generally, the concern with Andrus is if 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 between his 2009 and 2019 seasons.
Can Andrus get back to his consistent hitting? Spring isn’t the best indication. Maintaining health is the priority, and veterans like Andrus don’t see results from spring progressions until the last week of spring. That’s shown in Andrus’ performance. A slow start (3 for 25) over his first 10 games ended with Andrus going 5 for 17 in the final five games.
The A’s want Andrus to settle into his “point guard” role. A vocal leader who can lend his deep knowledge of the game to a relatively inexperienced team.
Andrus welcomes the challenge of a new team. He’s insisted to play every game with Matt Chapman so he can learn how to play next to the Platinum Glove third baseman. Playing next to third baseman Adrian Beltre for most of his career in Texas, Andrus thrived defensively, recording six outs above average at shortstop in the 2019 and 2018 seasons. That number plummeted to negative-2 in 2020 when his back injury flared up.
There’s no guarantee Andrus will return to his 2019 self defensively, but he looked agile and quick at shortstop this spring.
“I feel like I’m 20 now at 30. So I feel pretty good,” Andrus said.
A’S CAN INCREASE TICKETS >> The A’s will be opening up the Coliseum to over a thousand more fans per game for the 2021 season. With Alameda County among a handful of Bay Area counties moving on to the orange stage of the state’s COVID-19 reopening plan, attendance at outdoor sporting events can move from 20% capacity to 33% capacity.
But the A’s won’t have the space to reach 33% capacity while maintaining six feet of separation between pods of two and four. While the A’s initially said they would not be able to take advantage of the orange tier move, an A’s spokesperson said late Tuesday that the organization found space to squeeze in a few more fans.
That will bring capacity from 20%, which let them host a little over 11,000 fans, to 26%, which will allow for 12,188 fans for regular-season games. The A’s said they are opening up extra view-level seats for opening day.