Andrus has surgery, expected back by camp

September 29th, 2021

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Shortstop had successful surgery on Wednesday at the Trinity Surgical Center in Arlington, Texas, with Dr. Brigham Au, the A's announced. The club anticipates a return to health by Spring Training 2022 for Andrus, who needed to be helped off the field on Saturday after fracturing his left fibula while scoring the game-winning run.

Dr. Au performed two procedures that included an internal fixation to the fibula bone and a "tightrope" procedure to repair the upper ankle due to a sprain of the syndesmosis of the left leg. Dr. Au was pleased with the results and feels that Andrus will have a promising outcome to the surgery. Further updates will be available in the weeks and months to come.

The A’s had heard about the toughness of Andrus over the years during his division battles with the A’s as a member of the Rangers. Joining the A’s in a trade this offseason, that quality remained true to form as he battled a few different injuries to enter Sunday having played in 146 of Oakland’s 158 games this season.

“I don’t know that I’ve managed a player tougher than Elvis,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Pound for pound, this kid brings it every day. Probably played hurt way more than anybody knew. Whether it was his wrist, ankle, whatever, he just refused to come off the field. His pain tolerance is off the charts."

Batting .243, Andrus actually delivered his best work in the past month. Through 21 September games, the 33-year-old shortstop was batting .338 with four doubles, seven RBIs and 13 runs scored.