MLB Trade Rumors: Why the Texas Rangers Should Consider Dealing Elvis Andrus
Andrus is coming off arguably the best season of his career
Elvis Andrus has been with the Texas Rangers since 2009, and he has contributed a great deal to the team's fairly recent run of success.
Through nine Major League seasons, Andrus has established himself as a solidly above-average shortstop and there were even times when he could make a claim to being one of the elites.
Last season may have even been Andrus' finest.
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As seen in Baseball Reference, the long-time Rangers' middle infielder batted 297/337/471 and added 20 homeruns for good measure. He also defended well last season, and that helped him tally a career-high 4.7 Wins Above Replacement.
Fangraphs, which featured its own Wins Above Replacement stat, gave Andrus a slightly lower 4.1 Wins Above Replacement for 2017. Notably, that 4.1 mark was still a career-high for him.
Andrus was simply at his best last season, and at 29 years old, he can still keep up or at least approach that level of production for a few more years, which is one of the reasons why the Rangers should probably consider trading him now.
A number of teams could use an upgrade at shortstop, and Andrus could be a long-term answer for one of those franchises.
During a recent interview with the "Ben and Skin Show" on 105.3 The Fan, Andrus even expressed a desire to stay at shortstop his whole career, SportsDay reported.
If the Rangers can find a team that Andrus wants to go to, they can ask for a significant prospect haul in exchange for a player who can be a quality shortstop for years to come.
The Rangers will also be hard-pressed to keep up with their division rivals, the World Champion Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Angels, who have already added some good players this winter. Even the Seattle Mariners, another division rival, arguably has a better roster than the Rangers while the Oakland Athletics look poised to improve as well.
To put it simply, the Rangers with Andrus are longshots to make the playoffs next season, so they may be better off dealing their star shortstop now and then go into full rebuild mode.
It will not be easy for the Rangers to move a player who has become so popular, though it is a move the franchise may need to make to gain a better shot at competing in the future.
