Longtime big-league shortstop Elvis Andrus will officially retire as a member of the Texas Rangers on Friday, the team announced. He will be joined at the press conference by his former Rangers teammate Michael Young, who is now a special assistant with the organization, and also his former Rangers manager Ron Washington. Washington now manages the Los Angeles Angels. The two teams begin a weekend series Friday night.
"Being in the big leagues was always a blessing, but the game has changed, players have changed, teammates changed," Andrus told the Dallas Morning News recently. "Everybody is in their early 20s. Everybody I grew up with is out now. The last five years, I've seen all the guys that were my closest friends retire. Over the last few years, I found myself thinking: 'When is it going to be my time?' I thought this was going to be a depressing journey, but it's been amazing. I really thought it was going to be harder to be away, but I've really been at peace and I'm at peace with the next decision about the next journey."
Still only 36, Andrus originally signed with the Atlanta Braves as an international amateur free agent out of Venezuela in January 2005. He was traded as a prospect to the Rangers in the big Mark Teixeira trade at the 2007 deadline, then won the Opening Day shortstop job as a 20-year-old in 2009. That season, Andrus slashed .269/.329/.373 with 33 stolen bases and finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting behind Oakland Athletics reliever Andrew Bailey.
Andrus was selected to the All-Star Game the next season and, from 2009-17, he was one of the most reliable and most durable shortstops in the game. He hit .277/.335/.371 those nine seasons and averaged six home runs and 30 homers per year. Andrus played 1,379 of 1,458 possible regular season games those nine years. He was an All-Star in 2010 and 2012.
Andrus remained with the Rangers through the 2020 season, then was traded to the A's for Khris Davis and Jonah Heim in a salary shuffle move in February 2021. He finished his career with the Athletics (2021-22) and Chicago White Sox (2022-23). Andrus was in spring training with the Arizona Diamondbacks this year, but he was released at the end of camp.
All told, Andrus authored a .269/.325/.370 career batting line with 2,091 hits, 102 home runs, and 347 doubles. He was a very strong defensive shortstop much of his career and finished with 34.2 WAR. Andrus in ninth in Rangers history in WAR (29.8), second in Young to games played (1,652), third in hits (1,743), and first in stolen bases (305) among other things.