CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 01: Elvis Andrus #1 of the Chicago White Sox is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring during the tenth inning against the San Diego Padres at Guaranteed Rate Field on October 01, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. The Padres defeated the White Sox 2-1. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Venezuelan shortstop Elvis Andrus signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, the team reported on their transaction page.
Andrus has also received an invitation to big league camp as a non-roster invite. He and Kevin Newman will likely be battling for the Diamondbacks backup shortstop role during the rest of spring training.
Andrus joined the Baseball United leagues ownership group on April 13, 2023, which is the first-ever professional baseball league in Dubai and Sub Continent Asia.
Andrus, 35, was born in Maracay, Venezuela, and has played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Texas Rangers from 2009-20, the Oakland Athletics from 2021-22, and the Chicago White Sox from 2022-23. He was selected as an All-Star in 2010 and 2012.
Last season with the White Sox, Andrus played in 112 games, hitting .251 over 406 plate appearances with 94 hits, 20 doubles, one triple, six home runs, 44 RBI, 12 stolen bases, 25 walks, 71 strikeouts, and a .662 OPS before he elected free agency on Nov. 2.
He also played in 63 games at second base, playing the position for the first time in his career. He played 499.2 innings at the top of the diamond, getting 237 chances, 92 putouts, 139 assists, six errors, 29 double plays, and a fielding percentage of .975.
Andrus re-signed with the White Sox for $3 million prior to the 2023 season.
In 2022, Andrus started out in Oakland and played in 106 games, batting .237 with 386 plate appearances recording 84 hits, 24 doubles, eight home runs, 30 RBI, seven stolen bases, 30 walks, 62 strikeouts, and a .673 OPS before he was released on August 17, 2022.
Andrus signed with the White Sox as a free agent on Aug. 19, 2022, and played in 43 games for the Southsiders, hitting .271 with 49 hits, eight doubles, nine home runs, 28 RBI, 11 stolen bases, nine walks and 30 strikeouts before he elected free agency on Nov. 6, 2022.
During the 2021 season, Andrus played in 146 games in his first year with the Athletics and hit .244 in 541 plate appearances recording 121 hits, 25 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 37 RBI, 12 stolen bases, 31 walks, 81 strikeouts, and a .614 OPS.
In his 15 seasons in MLB, Andrus has 2,091 hits playing in 2,059 games with a lifetime average of .269 in 8,602 plate appearances smacking 380 doubles, 51 triples, 102 home runs, 775 RBI, 347 stolen bases, 611 walks, 1,206 strikeouts, and a .695 OPS.
Geraldo Perdomo was the starting shortstop job for the 2023 National League champions, and is projected to hold the job this season. Andrus and Newman will compete with Emmanuel Rivera and Jace Peterson for depth roles during spring training.
The Diamondbacks will play their first game of the 2024 regular season against the Colorado Rockies at home at 10:10 p.m. EDT on March 28.