From this point forward, Elvis Andrus should be on every Texas Rangers fans' team Mount Rushmore.
The young shortstop, who is still coming into his own as a player and has yet to hit his prime, has by all reports come to an agreement on a long-term extension with the Rangers even though he's a client of agent Scott Boras, who always encourages his players to test free agency and not give out club-friendly deals just because you like playing somewhere.
Andrus bucked that trend.
The 8-year, $120 million extension, which is expected to be made official sometime this week after Andrus passed a physical on Monday, means the 24-year-old will be a Ranger until at least 2018 — he reportedly has an opt-out after that season — or 2022 if he lives out the contract.
For Andrus, it seems, the decision wasn't a tough one as he got a fair deal to stay in a place that he genuinely seems to enjoy.
"As a player that's what you're looking for as soon as you get here," Andrus told ESPN Dallas. "You get a chance to stay longer with a team that you like and you love. It's always a lot of good things going through your mind."
Currently, Andrus is set to hit free agency after next season, and it's long been assumed he would no longer be a Ranger after that point and would likely head somewhere like New York to replace Derek Jeter at shortstop. In fact, the Rangers said publicly last month that they would make one more run at extending Andrus and then would probably be forced to trade him following the 2013 season if they couldn't reach a deal.
While nothing is official yet, it appears they have, and Andrus couldn't be happier.
"Everybody knew that I loved this team," Andrus said. "That I'm really happy. Like I always said, they were the first team to give me an opportunity to make the big leagues. It never came out of my mouth that I was trying to go to free agency. I still have two more years down my belt. I never said. There were more rumors than what I actually say."
