CLEVELAND — The White Sox announced the signing of shortstop Elvis Andrus Friday, shoring up a need at a position thinned out by injuries to Tim Anderson, Leury Garcia and Danny Mendick.

The former All-Star, released by Athletics on Wednesday, cleared waivers and was signed by the Sox and was in the lineup batting seventh and playing shortstop for the opener of an important three-game series Friday in Cleveland.

All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson is out for another five weeks with a finger injury, Danny Mendick is out for the season with a knee injury and Leury Garcia is on the injured list with a back strain, depleting the Sox’ shortstop depth and forcing them to play rookie call-ups Lenyn Sosa and Romy Gonzalez in recent days.

Sosa was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte to make room on the active roster.

Andrus, who turns 34 next week, isn’t the fielder he was during his All-Star years with the Rangers and is batting .237/.301/.378, but he’s a definite upgrade at a key position going into the stretch run of the season.

He’s in the final season of an eight-year, $120 million contract signed with Texas, but the Sox, who signed him through the end of the season, will owe Andrus the prorated league minimum for the rest of the season, with the A’s responsible for the remainder of his $14 million salary.

Andrus will wear jersey No. 1.

Andrus is a career .270/.326/.369 hitter with 87 home runs and a .695 OPS over 14 seasons, his first 12 in Texas. He was a teammate of Sox second baseman Josh Harrison last season.

The signing is expected to be announced Friday. Triple-A left-hander Yoan Aybar was outrighted, creating room on the 40-man roster.

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The Chicago Police Board has voted to fire an officer accused of beating and choking a man during an arrest, even though a judge found him not guilty of the charges earlier this year.

In a 5-2 decision, the board voted to dismiss Chicago police officer Louis Garcia for his actions on May 31, 2019, when Garcia and his partner arrested a man at a bus stop in the 9700 block of South Commercial Avenue.

The board found that Garcia not only beat and choked the man, but didn’t secure him in the police car and didn’t record the full arrest on his body camera. The board also accused him of lying in a report about the arrest.

Garcia was criminally charged with official misconduct last year by Cook County prosecutors who said the confrontation began when the suspect used a racial slur against Garcia.

Garcia then placed his hands around the man’s neck for more than 10 seconds, when Garcia’s partner intervened. Once in the police car, prosecutors said the suspect tried to bite the officers from the backseat and Garcia hit the man in the face with his elbow.

A judge acquitted Garcia on all counts this past April.

Garcia’s lawyer, Jim McKay, said the police board “had it wrong” and that he was advising Garcia to appeal the dismissal.

“There’s no evidence whatsoever that Garcia choked this man with the intent to restrict his [airflow],” McKay said. “This is against the totality of all the evidence in the hearing.”

A federal lawsuit filed last year accused Garcia of assaulting the same man during a July 2007 arrest, though the suit says that case was settled out of court.

Garcia has drawn more use of force complaints than 99% of his colleagues in the department, according to the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit that collects government information.

Garcia has been named in lawsuits with other law enforcement officials over the last 12 years, with allegations ranging from excessive use of force to creating false charges.

Supt. David Brown had recommended dismissal for Garcia, his partner and two officers who failed to “adequately review” reports of the incident.The partner,Manuel Giron, was given a 20-day suspension without pay.The two other officers werereinstated.

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Rob Heitz, 41, who was paralyzed after diving head first into shallow water in Lake Michigan in Racine, Wisc. in 2003, swims in Lake Michigan near Ohio Street Beach in the Gold Coast neighborhood, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. Heitz is training to swim a mile to two miles in San Francsico Bay on August 19. Heitz, who describes himself as a “high functioning quadriplegic,” had an incomplete spinal cord injury in 2003 and still feels weakness and tingling on the left side of his body.

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A day after the Republican candidate in the Illinois gubernatorial election again called Chicago a “hellhole,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot snapped back Friday on Twitter by defending the city while slamming state Sen. Darren Bailey’s campaign as a “dumpster fire.”

Bailey, who is running against incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker in the general election, appeared Thursday at a GOP rally during the Illinois State Fair, where he again attacked Chicago and its Democratic leadership for failing to address crime and other issues.

When asked by a reporter whether he thought most Chicagoans, who account for more than 20% of Illinois’ general population, actually view their home as a “hellhole,” Bailey reportedly stood by his comments, saying, “Actually, I believe they do … Because it’s unsafe.”

Bailey’s campaign also responded to Lightfoot’s tweet by replying to it with a series of posts including links to news stories about Chicago crime. Another tweet, quoting the mayor’s, calls Lightfoot, Pritzker and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx “the three blind mice of crime, corruption and chaos.”

Shootings and homicides in Chicago are down substantially from the historic highs of last year, according to Chicago Police Department data, but there’s been a 35% increase in overall crimes reported in 2022.

Lightfoot, who’s running for reelection, has repeatedly defended the efforts of CPD under the leadership of Supt. David Brown. “I will always have your back,” the mayor said 10 days ago at a police graduation ceremony.

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Matt Forte was somewhat critical of the Chicago Bears while commenting on Roquan Smith’s situation.

Ten days ago, Roquan Smith requested a trade from the Chicago Bears. Smith claims that the organization refuses to recognize his true value. You can view Smith’s full statement here.

Many analysts and former players have commented on the ongoing situation. Former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher made his thoughts clear as soon as this situation became public. Urlacher urged the Bears to pay Smith.

Former Bears running back Matt Forte is the latest to share his thoughts on the Roquan Smith hold-in. Forte was with the Bears for eight seasons, and only Walter Payton has more all-time rushing yards with the franchise. Forte went on 670 The Score and commented on Roquan Smith, players, and their negotiations.

“I respect him standing his ground and being like, ‘Look, I need to get paid,’ because you can get hurt any day.” Forte continued, “And if you get hurt and they cut you, then they just release you and be like, ‘Well, you’re injured. You’re not the same guy anymore.’ So, you have to use your leverage as a player.”

Many former players have made it clear that they are on Roquan Smith’s side in this ordeal. Roquan has made it clear that he wants to play for Chicago, whether or not a deal actually gets done remains to be seen. Matt Forte also commented on what might be holding up a potential deal, and it’s something that Bears fans know all too well.

“The Bears, they are definitely cheap, and they give guys a hard time,” Forte said. “I don’t know, they pay a lot of guys who don’t deserve the money, and sometimes the guys who do deserve it, they don’t pay them.”

With the regular season only weeks away, this situation will need to be resolved quickly. Thankfully, one insider hinted that it may be resolved soon. Hopefully, the cheapness that Matt Forte referenced doesn’t get in the way of the Bears and Roquan Smith coming to an agreement.

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