Rays Trade 3B Evan Longoria to Giants
After striking out on a potential deal for Giancarlo Stanton, the Giants pulled off a successful trade for Rays third baseman Evan Longoria. Denard Span, Matt Krook, Stephen Woods and Christian Arroyo, a 22-year-old infielder who made his major league debut in the 2017 season and is considered one of the Giants' top prospects, are reportedly headed to the Rays as part of the deal.
The Tampa Bay Times' Mark Topkin was first to report that a deal had been reached, while Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan was first to report the full details of the trade.
Longoria, 32, is a three-time All-Star has won three Gold Gloves, including for this past season. He hit .261 with 20 homers and 86 RBIs in 2017 on .313/.424/.737.
With the deal, the Giants fill a need a third base. Pablo Sandoval and Kelby Tomlinson platooned at the position in 2017 for San Francisco, but neither player provided much at all offensively. Longoria should immediately slide into the starting role and should hit near the middle of the Giants' order.
In Span, the Rays acquire a 33-year-old center fielder who batted .272 with 12 homers last season. Krook and Woods and minor league pitching prospects—Krook was the 25th best prospect in the organization and Woods was 29th.
The key return piece for the Rays is Arroyo, a promising shortstop who was a first-round pick in the 2013 draft.
Longoria is owed $81 million over the next five seasons before his deal has a team option for $13 million in 2022. He appeared in 34 games for the Giants between late April and early June before being sent down to Triple-A for the remainder of th year. During his short stint in the majors, Arroyo batted .192 with three homers and 14 RBIs.
The AL Rookie of the Year in 2008, Longoria immediately became one of the league's premier third baseman and made the All-Star team in each of his first three seasons. He hasn't made an All-Star team since, but he remains a consistent contributor with better than average power.
For his career, Longoria has a .270 average with 261 homers and 892 RBIs.
