Andrews had pop in his bat, but the Expos’ patience with his low batting averages and high strikeout totals ran out during the 1999 season. Bothered by a bad back, he demanded a trade after yielding playing time to prospect Michael Barrett and was finally released in September.
The New Mexico native signed with the Cubs, the team he’d rooted for in his youth, and seemed to earn a full-time job in 2000 by playing well down the stretch. But Andrews’ hopes were dashed when his back problems flared up in May, requiring surgery that caused him to miss three months of the season.
