Andrus will retire as Ranger after debuting with team as 20-year-old

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Elvis Andrus, who made his big league debut as a 20-year-old shortstop for the Texas Rangers on opening day in 2009, is set to retire with his original club.

The 36-year-old Andrus will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Rangers' home game Friday night against the Los Angeles Angels and manager Ron Washington, who was Andrus' skipper for his first five-plus seasons.

Andrus will be joined on the mound by Michael Young, who moved from shortstop to third base to make room for Andrus and is now a special assistant to Rangers general manager Chris Young.

A two-time All-Star, Andrus was a steady presence up the middle when the Rangers went to back-to-back World Series in 2010-11. He was also part of AL West-winning teams in 2015-16.

As the club moved into a rebuilding mode almost a decade later, Andrus was traded to Oakland before the 2021 season. During his second season with the A's, Andrus was sent to the Chicago White Sox.

Andrus spent 2023 in Chicago but remained unsigned this season.

The native of Venezuela his .269 for his career, with 102 homers and 775 RBIs. Andrus is the Rangers' career leader with 305 stolen bases and ranks second in games (1,652), at-bats (6,366) and triples (48).

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