Minor leagues At the age of 16, Andrus signed with the
Atlanta Braves and received a signing bonus of $600,000. He started the 2005 season with the
Orlando Braves of the
Gulf Coast League, and was promoted to
Danville late in the season. He spent 2006 with Class-A
Rome, being named to the
South Atlantic League All-Star team. In 2007, Andrus joined the Class A
Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the
Carolina League. Andrus was selected to the
All-Star Futures Game in 2007 and 2008. On July 31, 2007, Andrus,
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and three
minor league pitchers (
Matt Harrison,
Neftalí Feliz, and Beau Jones) were traded from the Braves to the Rangers for
Mark Teixeira and
Ron Mahay.
Major leagues Texas Rangers (2009–2020) 2009 With Rangers shortstop
Michael Young agreeing to move to third base in 2009, Andrus earned the starting job on Opening Day. He was the second-youngest player in the American League (AL) at the time, older than only pitcher
Rick Porcello. As Andrus was only 20 years old, Texas signed shortstop
Omar Vizquel, then 41 years old, for insurance, but Vizquel played only 27 games at shortstop. On May 20, Andrus and
second baseman Ian Kinsler turned a
triple play, with Kinsler catching a
line drive and throwing to Andrus, who stepped on second base to put out a
runner who
failed to tag up and then
tagged a runner who had left first base. Andrus stole his 20th base on July 28, 2009. Andrus was the tenth player in major league history to steal 20 bases under the age of 21. The last player to do so was his then-teammate
Andruw Jones, who had accomplished the feat in 1997 with Atlanta. Andrus finished the 2009 season
hitting .267 with 6
home runs and 33
stolen bases, finishing second in American League
Rookie of the Year voting, behind
reliever Andrew Bailey.
2010 Andrus was named to the
2010 American League All-Star team. That year, he batted .265 with no home runs. He led the AL in
sacrifice hits (17), was 2nd in
caught stealing (15), and 9th in stolen bases (32). In the
postseason, Andrus hit well in the Rangers' first two series, batting .333 with seven steals in 11 games. In the
World Series, his performance plummeted, batting .176 with zero extra base hits as the Rangers lost to the San Francisco Giants.
2011 In 2011, Andrus batted .279, with 5 home runs. He finished the year again leading the AL in sacrifice hits (16) while batting .271 and scoring 91 runs.
2014 Andrus began the 2014 season with an 11-game hitting streak that ultimately ended when he was ejected on April 13. On June 8, Andrus had a 39-game hitting streak against the
Cleveland Indians snapped as he went 0 for 4. That game marked the first time in his career where he did not get a
hit against Cleveland. Only
Vladimir Guerrero had a longer streak against one team (with 44, against Texas). Andrus became the Rangers' all-time stolen base leader in 2014, surpassing former teammate Kinsler's 172 steals. However, he led the AL in caught stealing in 2014, with 15 for the season, while batting .263.
2015 Andrus finished 2015 with career lows in batting average (.258),
on-base percentage (.309), and sacrifice hits, while posting a then-career-best seven home runs and stealing 25 bases for the
AL West champion Rangers. Defensively, he led the major leagues in assists with 516. He batted .182 in the
Division Series against the
Toronto Blue Jays and made two of the team's three errors in the pivotal seventh inning of Game 5, won by the Blue Jays.
2016 In 2016, his offense bounced back, with a .302 batting average, eight home runs, and 69 RBIs.
2017 In 2017, he posted a career-best offensive season, hitting .297 with 20 home runs and 88 RBIs and 25 steals in 158 games. He led the major leagues in fielding assists with 490.
2018 On April 11, 2018,
Angels reliever
Keynan Middleton hit Andrus
with a pitch on his right arm.
X-rays and
CT scans showed that Andrus had a
fractured right elbow. He was placed on the
injured list for the first time of his MLB career. He did not need surgery but had to stop baseball activities for several weeks. Andrus finished 2018
hitting .256/.308/.367 with 6 home runs and 33 RBI.
2019 In 2019, Andrus hit .275/.313/.393 with 12 home runs, 72 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases. He tied for the AL lead with 10
sacrifice flies.
2020 In 2020, Andrus batted .194/.252/.330 with three home runs and seven RBIs in 103 at bats. His .969 fielding percentage was his lowest since 2011.
Oakland Athletics (2021–2022) On February 6, 2021, Andrus and
Aramis Garcia were traded to the Oakland Athletics for
Khris Davis,
Jonah Heim, and
Dane Acker. In his first year in Oakland, Andrus batted .243/.294/.320 with 3 home runs, 37 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 146 games. On August 17, 2022, Andrus was released by the Athletics. Finances contributed to the Athletics decision, as Andrus was 164
plate appearances from earning a $15-million
player option for the following season.
Chicago White Sox (2022–2023) The
Chicago White Sox signed Andrus to a major league contract on August 19, 2022. He hit better in his 43 games in Chicago than he earlier in the season in Oakland, posting a .773
on-base plus slugging percentage with the White Sox, 100 points higher than he had with the Athletics. On April 5, Andrus recorded his 2,000 career hit, a single off
Logan Webb of the Giants that snapped an 0-for-14 hitless streak. For the only time in his career, he played the majority of his games at second base rather than shortstop. In the final game of his MLB career, he went hitless in five at-bats and scored Chicago's only run in a 2–1 loss to the
San Diego Padres. He became a
free agent following the 2023 season.
Arizona Diamondbacks and retirement On March 3, 2024, Andrus signed a minor league contract with the
Arizona Diamondbacks with an invitation to
spring training. On March 22, Andrus was released by Arizona after failing to make the Opening Day roster. Andrus' formal retirement from MLB was announced on September 4, 2024. On September 6, he signed a
one-day contract with the
Texas Rangers and officially retired with the team. ==Coaching career==