Grading the White Sox: Elvis Andrus

Dec 1, 2022 - 6:59 PM

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At midseason, the SSS staff graded the 46-46 White Sox, from head of the class Dylan Cease all the way down to Dallas Keuchel. We invented a WARsss metric that could very well be just a cute way to trot out our special site grades — but really for all you know could be the product of years of research in a stats lab.

Our expanded report card will take us through everyone who saw time in uniform for the White Sox, plus some front-office types. Most of our writers will take on a couple of players, with final grades and short writeups, running through the end of November. Enjoy!

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Elvis Andrus
Shortstop
Midseason: n/a
Final: 6.3 WARsss

He should stay Arguably the best scrap-heap pickup in White Sox history, Andrus looked like a rejuvenated player for 43 glorious games. During his time on the White Sox, the former All-Star was on pace to have the best season of his career, producing at a 6+ WAR pace by basically every valuation system. After years of languishing on non-competitive teams, The King played with renewed purpose during crunch time, providing a massive spark (119 OPS+!!!) in the absence of Tim Anderson. He seemed to mesh well with the roster, and isn’t likely to command a huge sum in free agency despite his eleventh-hour burst.

He should go Now 34 years of age, there’s little reason to believe what Andrus did in those 43 games is sustainable for him, especially considering he’s been a well below-average hitter almost his entire career. Like Josh Harrison, returning Andrus for next season means investing in a presumably palatable floor, but likely removes any hope for an elite full season’s performance. Recent results notwithstanding, he’s been a thoroughly unremarkable player for about the last half-decade.

The verdict Seeing Elvis get a full-season encore wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, to be sure. While the White Sox have a boatload of potentially useful middle infielders in the high minors (José Rodríguez, Lenyn Sosa, Yolbert Sánchez, Laz Rivera, Romy González), none has yet established themselves as ready to take the reins at 2B/SS full-time. Andrus could probably transition to second base just fine while backing up Anderson at shortstop and allow some time for their prospects to get a bit more seasoning. If the White Sox can’t throw money at their problems, Andrus is at least a depth piece they can probably afford, lest they gamble that somebody like Sosa is ready for prime time.

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2022 White Sox Grades

Elvis Andrus, SS, 6.3
Reynaldo López, RHRP, 6.2
José Abreu, 1B, 5.8
Jimmy Lambert, RHRP, 5.2
Eloy Jiménez, “LF,” 4.9
Michael Kopech, RHSP, 4.86
Liam Hendriks, RHRP, 4.85
Danny Mendick, UTIL, 4.4
Ethan Katz, PIT COACH, 4.3
Tanner Banks, LHRP, 4.27
Andrew Vaughn, “LF,” 4.25
Davis Martin, RHSP, 4.1
Seby Zavala, C, 4.0
Luis Robert, CF, 3.7
Lance Lynn, RHSP, 3.5
Miguel Cairo, Bench Coach/MGR, 3.48
Tim Anderson, SS, 3.43
Kendall Graveman, RHRP, 3.1
Josh Harrison, 2B, 3.0
Gavin Sheets, RF-1B, 2.5
Jake Burger, 3B, 2.2
Romy González, IF, 2.0
Aaron Bummer, LHRP, 1.8
AJ Pollock, OF, 1.3
Matt Foster, RHRP, 1.2
Yoán Moncada, 3B, 0.92
Lenyn Sosa, SS, 0.85
José Ruiz, RHRP, 0.83
Mark Payton, OF, 0.6
Carlos Pérez, C, 0.399
Lucas Giolito, RHSP, 0.392
Adam Engel, OF, 0.237
Vince Velasquez, RHP, -0.4
Reese McGuire, C, -1.1
Kyle Crick, RHRP, -1.65
Joe Kelly, RHRP, -1.75
Daryl Boston, 1B Coach, -2.0
Anderson Severino, LHRP, -2.2
Jerry Reinsdorf, OWN, -2.321
Jake Diekman, LHRP, -2.366
Rick Hahn, GM, -2.401
Bennett Sousa, LHRP, -2.425
Frank Menechino, BAT COACH, -2.469
Yasmani Grandal, C/DH, -2.549
Leury García, UTIL, -2.7
Adam Haseley, OF, -3.146
Joe McEwing, 3B Coach, -3.167
Ryan Burr, RHRP, -3.4
Tony La Russa, MGR, -3.5
Dallas Keuchel, LHSP, -3.9

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