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Texas Rangers rumors: Elvis Andrus is someone the New York Yankees are intrigued by, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Derek Jeter, of course, has retired, and the Yankees are looking for a replacement at shortstop. According to Sherman, the Rangers would "love to unload" Andrus, an assertion I'm not sure I agree with, given that just two years ago they refused to consider moving him for Justin Upton, and seventeen months ago they signed him to an extension, with Jon Daniels saying at the time:
"In a lot of ways, he is everything we're all about: the charisma, the smile, the connection with our fans, the connection with our teammates. At 24 years old, with the things he's accomplished to this point, with the multiple All-Star Games and the World Series and the other personal accolades. And the way he leads the charge when we take the field every night."
Look, I get that I'm not the best person to be writing about this right now. Elvis is one of my favorite players, ever. I don't care what the deal is -- I don't want him traded. I've been rooting for him and following him since he came to Texas in the Mark Teixeira deal. The idea of him being dealt now, in his mid-20s, makes my head hurt. The idea of him going to the GD New York Yankees in a salary dump makes me want to throw up.
I will freely admit I've gotten soft in my old age. Over a decade ago, I argued on the ESPN message boards, vehemently, that letting Pudge Rodriguez leave as a free agent was the right thing to do.
In retrospect, I was wrong. At least, from the standpoint of being a fan, I was wrong. And I don't think I realized that until I saw Pudge come back to Texas at the end of his career as a backup. When I saw him wearing a Rangers uniform again, I realized that that was the way it always should have been. Pudge Rodriguez should have spent his career with this organization. Maybe from a payroll allocation standpoint, aging curve, all that, letting him go was the right thing to do, but looking back on it now, I wish the Rangers had spent what it took to keep him.
And then more recently, with Michael Young...watching that press conference where he retired as a Ranger, it made me disappointed that his spent that final season in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. I've spilled a lot of words criticizing Michael Young, I lobbied for his departure, but at the end of the day, looking back, he's someone I wish the Rangers never would have traded. I understand why the Rangers did it...but I wish it hadn't happened.
And so that gets me back to Elvis Andrus. I've talked before about how the contract is not the albatross that some make it out to be, that $15 million doesn't buy you that much in the free agent market -- last year, for example, it could have gotten you A.J. Pierzynski and Chris Young the Outfielder, and this year, Dave Cameron thinks that the Rangers will spend $15 million on Jason Hammel and Francisco Rodriguez.
But setting aside the baseball side of things...I don't want to see Elvis Andrus play for another team. I want to see Elvis Andrus retire a Ranger. I freely admit that, while there are solid baseball reasons I don't want him dealt right now, first and foremost, its because I've gotten emotional and soft in my old age, and I don't want to see my favorite players leave.
Michael Young two years ago, followed by Ian Kinsler last offseason, and Elvis Andrus this offseason? It would break my baseball spirit.
Don't do it, JD.
