The Chicago White Sox will sign veteran free-agent infielder Elvis Andrus, according to Jeff Passan. Andrus is expected to join the White Sox on Friday, ahead of their series versus the Cleveland Guardians.
Andrus, who will celebrate his 34th birthday on Aug. 26, was released by the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday. His departure from Oakland had been controversial, as it appeared that the Athletics had manipulated his playing time to prevent him from reaching 550 plate appearances, a threshold that would have converted his $15 million option next season from a club option to a player option. Andrus, for his part, spoke out against how the A's had siphoned his starts over the weekend:
"Everybody knows I'm an everyday player. So doing this, it's not fun for me," he told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Of course I'm upset. I'm pissed about it. But like I said, the best I can do is stay positive and wait for my turn and be ready whatever happens."
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Andrus had hit .237/.301/.373 (97 OPS+) with 24 doubles, eight homers, 30 RBI, 41 runs, and seven steals during his time with the Athletics. His 1.3 Wins Above Replacement ranked fourth among Oakland's position players. Nevertheless, the A's had taken to alternating his starts with rookies Nick Allen and Jonah Bride, neither of whom had performed nearly as well as the veteran.
The White Sox are a logical landing spot for Andrus given the state of their infield depth chart. Tim Anderson (torn ligament in hand) and Leury Garcia (strained back) have both been placed on the injured list over the past week, and Danny Mendick has been out since June because of a torn knee ligament. The White Sox, two games back in the American League Central, have resorted to starting Lenyn Sosa and Josh Harrison up the middle, with Romy Gonzalez serving as their backup.
