Warning: The following news story is bound to make you feel old. You’ve been warned.

Elvis Andrus, the fresh-faced, energetic kid whose arrival helped usher in the Texas Rangers’ AL dynasty more than a decade ago, will officially retire as an active player on Friday as a Ranger. Hey, just because a story makes you feel older doesn’t mean it can’t make you feel a little happier, too.

The Rangers will honor Andrus prior to Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels by having him throw out the first pitch. The timing of the announcement to coincide with the Angels’ visit is not coincidental. The Angels are managed by Ron Washington, Andrus’ first manager with the Rangers who helped guide him through the early stages of being a major leaguer. Then his father, Adrián Beltré, stepped in.

“Our success really started in 2009, and the biggest player move that year was promoting a 20-year-old shortstop from Double-A,” said former Rangers general manager Jon Daniels, who acquired Andrus as part of a seven-player deal that sent Mark Teixeira to Atlanta in 2007. “Elvis solidified the infield, with Michael [Young] and Ian [Kinsler], and helped improve our pitching with his range and ability to play shortstop. His energy and baserunning helped change the way we pressured defenses.

“He handled the spotlight instantly, both as a rookie and then in the playoffs in the biggest moments, and endeared himself to the fans. He was the perfect fit on a team with a lot of talented guys who loved to play and compete.”

Michael Young, the only player with more longevity in the organization than Andrus, is expected to participate in the first pitch ceremony, as well as an Andrus retirement press conference Friday afternoon alongside Washington and his former teammate.

“For our fanbase, Elvis will always symbolize an immensely fun time in our organization’s history,” Young said Wednesday. “Every player has lasting traits that people remember them by. For Elvis, it will be his enthusiasm and his energy. When he got here, we were ready to start kicking this thing into gear. We needed some young players to provide that nightly spark. He gave it to us with his personality and his performance. And, more importantly, we all immediately loved him.”

Andrus almost certainly will be inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame. Usually, the team waits at least two years after a player’s official retirement announcement for induction. For context: Iván Rodriguez played his last active game in 2011, announced his retirement in 2012 and was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2013.

Andrus, who turned 36 last month, played last season for the Chicago White Sox and signed a minor league deal with Arizona during spring training. When he didn’t make the club, he elected not to go to the minor leagues, returned to his home in Frisco and found comfort in being around his wife, Cori, and three young children.

Andrus played 1,652 games with the Rangers from 2009-20, second only to Young in club history. Andrus compiled 1,743 of his 2,091 career hits with the Rangers, placing him third in team history behind Rodriguez and Young. He is the team leader in stolen bases (305), is third in runs scored (893), fifth in doubles (303), second in triples (48) and is also in the top 10 in RBIs and extra-base hits.

The Rangers traded him to Oakland on Feb. 6, 2021 in an exchange of contracts for Khris Davis, Dane Acker and a young catcher named Jonah Heim. He spent 1 1/2 seasons with the A’s before a mid-season trade to Chicago. As a part-time player, he reached 2,000 hits in 2023, making him only the 41st player in MLB history to reach both 2,000 hits and 300 steals.

In 15 major league seasons, Andrus slashed .269/325/.370/.695 with 102 home runs and 347 steals in 2,059 games. He was the AL runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2009 and was a two-time All-Star.

Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Many North Texans are waking up to a bit of rain on Wednesday morning.

Light rain is expected to stick around through noon with temperatures in the 70s.

There will hopefully be some breaks in the clouds later on as the rain shuts down.

Northeast winds will keep our temperatures low throughout the day.

Our high is expected to be in the low 80s at DFW Airport. That’s 10 degrees cooler than usual for this time of year.

North Texas Live Radar 

7-Day Forecast

At least some sun will return on Thursday as humid air heats back near 90 degrees.

There is enough moisture in the air to have an isolated shower.

We will be back in the 90s on Friday before we see a weak cold front in the afternoon to evening hours.

This weekend should be beautiful.

Humidity should be low and temperatures should be in the upper 80s.

Things look like they should stay dry for a while!

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores held his first weekly press conference of the regular season on Tuesday. As usual, he emphasized the challenge the team is facing on Sunday — he had praise for Brian Daboll, Daniel Jones, and the Giants’ offensive weapons — but it was what Flores said about two notable Vikings players that stood out the most.

J.J. McCarthy isn’t playing on Sunday, but the Vikings still have a first-round pick set to make his highly-anticipated NFL debut. Dallas Turner, the 21-year-old pass rusher out of Alabama, is going to have a role against the Giants, even if he’s listed as the fourth outside linebacker on Minnesota’s unofficial depth chart.

“We’ve got a role envisioned for Dallas,” Flores said. “I’m not gonna give you (the details) right now, but I think we’ll see that play out in-game. That changes. If he’s got the hot hand, we leave him in.”

Veterans Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel are the starters at OLB, and they’ll both play quite a bit. But Pat Jones II and Turner will mix in as well, and as Flores said, the rotation is malleable based on how players are performing. On obvious passing downs, you could see three or even all four of those players on the field together.

Flores and the Vikings have been very impressed by what they’ve seen from Turner since they picked him 17th overall in April. He had a strong training camp and showed off his tools on just a few reps in the preseason opener against the Raiders.

“Very athletic, very smart, tough — nothing but positives, quite honestly,” Flores said. “I think one of the good things for him is he’s in a room with guys like Greenard, guys like Ginkel, and he’s like a sponge with that group as far as extracting information and finding ways for him to apply some of those things with his skill set. Excited to see him play on Sunday.”

Back in the spring, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell talked about wanting to reduce Harrison Smith’s workload a bit this year. Smith, 35, played over 1,100 snaps last season as a true every-down player. He’s averaged over 1,000 snaps over the last six regular seasons.

In theory, the Vikings have the depth to give their longest-tenured player some plays off here and there in 2024. Theo Jackson, their No. 4 safety, is very capable of stepping in alongside Camryn Bynum and Josh Metellus if needed. The Vikings also have four experienced cornerbacks — Stephon Gilmore, Byron Murphy Jr., Shaq Griffin, and Fabian Moreau — who they can use.

In reality, Smith is a hard guy to take off the field, Flores has learned.

“If he’s standing by me, I don’t really feel good about that,” a smiling Flores said. “Maybe that’s the play where he goes in there and makes the game-changing play. So it’s hard to get him out. There’s a plan to maybe get him out of there, a series or two, but that same plan was in last year and I kinda overruled all of that. Put it on me.”

Smith will once again be a central part of the Vikings’ defense in his 13th — and perhaps final — season with the franchise. His 34 career interceptions are two behind former teammate Patrick Peterson for the most among active players, and three behind Joey Browner for fourth in Vikings history.