The Diamondbacks introduced that infielder Elvis Andrus has been signed to a minor league contract. Andrus receives an invite to Arizona’s huge league Spring Coaching camp.
Andrus joins Kevin Newman as a veteran non-roster signing battling for a backup position on the Diamondbacks’ roster. Geraldo Perdomo has already been tapped because the on a regular basis shortstop for no less than the start of the season, and Andrus and Newman can each play shortstop, which maybe gives some form of edge for certainly one of them to beat out Emmanuel Rivera or Jace Peterson for a bench job.
Few gamers within the sport right now have as a lot shortstop expertise as Andrus, who has logged 17010 innings on the place over his 15 Main League seasons. Andrus had by no means performed a place apart from shortstop previous to final season, when he logged 404 innings at his common place but in addition 499 2/3 innings at second base and 27 frames at third base when taking part in for the White Sox.
A superb defender again in his prime with the Rangers, Andrus’ public defensive metrics have had some variance over time, although he can nonetheless deal with the glove nicely sufficient to get by in a backup capability. The Outs Above Common metric has nearly all the time been very favorable about his work as a shortstop and second baseman, the Defensive Runs Saved metric has been usually down on Andrus’ glovework, and UZR/150 is about someplace within the center. The 2023 season noticed Andrus publish +4 OAA, +0.2 UZR/150, and -2 DRS at shortstop, and +2 OAA, -1.6 UZR/150, 0 DRS as a second baseman.
Andrus’ output on the plate has been inconsistent at finest throughout his profession, and he hit .251/.304/.358 over 406 plate appearances in 2023 for a subpar 81 wRC+. This isn’t far off his profession .269/.325/.370 mark and 86 wRC+, although it’s protected to guess that the D’Backs are focusing extra on Andrus’ defensive worth forward of what he can add on the plate.
It isn’t essentially a shock that the 35-year-old Andrus couldn’t discover a assured deal coming off an underwhelming season, although this does mark the primary minor league deal of his profession. Andrus’ previous prime prospect standing painted him as a cornerstone for the Rangers, who signed him to a pair of extensions — a three-year, $14.4MM pact overlaying the 2012-14 seasons, after which an enormous eight-year, $120MM deal for the 2015-22 seasons. Even after that mega-deal expired, Andrus nonetheless landed a $3MM assure from the White Sox final winter.