The White Sox have signed an infielder Elvis Andres on a one-year deal, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link). The contract will become official if Andrus passes a physical and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale adds that Andrus will earn a salary of $3 million. Andrus is represented by Boras Corporation.
Andrus returns to the Chicago South side after scoring .271/.309/.464 in 191 plate appearances with the White Sox last season. Released by the A’s in August, the Sox quickly inked Andrus as a shortstop replacement for Tim Anderson, who missed the rest of the season due to a cruciate ligament tear. Though a small sample, Andrus’ performance with the Sox marked his best offensive boost in years, as the veteran struggled at the plate at the end of his tenure with the Rangers and during much of his two seasons in Oakland.
With Anderson now healthy, the White Sox will use Andrus as their regular second baseman. This marks the first position change of Andrus’ 14-year MLB career, having played exclusively shortstop (with a handful of DH games) during his 1947 major league games. Andrus has made exactly one professional appearance as a second baseman, and that happened way back in his rookie ball season in 2005 with the Braves’ rookie ball partner.
Lack of experience notwithstanding, there is probably not much doubt that Andrus can handle the new position, as he was still posting quality defensive numbers (as per UZR/150 and Outs Above Average metrics) as a shortstop in 2022. It’s certainly possible that Andrus’ glove work is even better in a supposedly easier position, giving the White Sox a defensive boost heading into a season where new anti-shift rules come into play.
The signing addresses a problem position for the Sox that has endured throughout the offseason. Chicago signed Hans Alberto, Eric GonzalezAnd Nate Mondou to minor league contracts, but neither represented a real upgrade to a second-base position that gave the White Sox just 0.3 bWAR for the entire 2022 season. With Andrus now in the herd, longtime utilityman Leury Garcia can now be used in its usual multi-position role and like more inexperienced options Romy Gonzales And Lenin Sosa can now fight for bank jobs or get more spice in the minor leagues.
Andrus’ $3 million spending raises Chicago’s payroll to about $189.1 million, according to Roster Resource. That’s slightly less than the approximately $193 million the White Sox spent last season, although GM Rick Hahn hinted back in November that the club plans to have roughly the same payroll as in 2022. Some reports suggested the Sox would break even as they attempt to cut payrolls to around $180 million, though that plan may have been scrapped amid rising free agent costs and a relative lack of league-wide action in the trade market. If the Sox were struggling midseason, owner Jerry Reinsdorf could potentially approve another pay rise for a trade deadline extension, though it’s likely a safe bet that a real spending spree isn’t coming.
The Angels and Red Sox were the only publicly known teams interested in Andrus that winter, and Boston appeared in their wake Trevor story‘s internal brace surgery on his right elbow. The shortstop market has obviously been busy this off-season, but for once the big names of Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Carlo CorreaAnd Dansby Swanson All signed their contracts, the remaining teams with shortstop needs seemed more willing to explore internal options than pursue a veteran like Andrus. Becoming a second baseman might reflect the reality of the market for Andrus, or he might simply have preferred a day-to-day role in a new position (and in a familiar environment) rather than remaining a shortstop on a new team, but more of a part-time one Capacity.