Andrus Nearly Blows Game With Error

Elvis Andrus got his big, long-term contract to be an elite defensive shortstop and provide a steady bit of offense as a light-hitting shortstop.

So far, he's pretty accomplished neither of those.

Andrus is actually hitting the ball well on this road trip, and he's once again tormenting the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland, which is by far his best ballpark to hit in over the course of his career. But his play in the field nearly cost the Rangers a game on Tuesday night as he committed his 11th error of the season in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The situation: No one on, two outs and Shawn Tolleson seemingly cruising through his fifth consecutive save to give the Rangers their seventh straight win and their third straight series victory. But it almost didn't happen because a grounder to Andrus was booted for his alarming 11th error in just two months of the season — a pace of more than 30 errors on the season.

The light offense of Andrus this year is one thing. That's almost to the point of being expected now, but the defensive struggles have been something much more concerning. To nearly be the sole reason the Rangers lost a game is not something you expect out of a $100 million shortstop.

If I'm Jeff Banister, I might sit Andrus in the series finale just to prove a point, but that might be hard to do given the way he's swinging the bat and knowing this is his final game in Cleveland this year.

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