Arizona Diamondbacks v San Francisco Giants | Lachlan Cunningham/GettyImages
Former SF Giants third baseman Evan Longoria will officially hang up his cleats. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times confirms that the 16-year veteran will sign a one-day contract with the Tampa Bay Rays in June to retire with his original team.
Longoria sat out the 2024 campaign and even recognized that his career was likely over at that point. His final stop was with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he posted a .717 OPS with 11 home runs and 28 RBI in 237 plate appearances in 2023.
The Diamondbacks reached the World Series that season, only to lose to the Texas Rangers in five games. World Series appearances proved to be the bookends of Longoria’s long career. He also helped lead the Rays to the World Series in 2008.
The veteran infielder made his mark during his 10 seasons with Tampa Bay. He earned three AL All-Star nods, three Gold Glove Awards, and one AL Rookie of the Year Award while quickly emerging as the greatest player in Tampa Bay’s young history.
A surprise offseason trade sent Longoria to San Francisco in 2017. The Rays received a trio of prospects along with veteran outfielder Denard Span. Span was included in the deal to offset some of the money the Giants were absorbing. Tampa Bay was eager to make the move due partly to Longoria closing in on attaining 10-and-5 rights, which grants players a no-trade clause.
On the other hand, the Giants were motivated to make the deal to rebound from a brutal 98-loss season in 2017. The 39-year-old spent five seasons with the Giants, offering good power and quality defense. He was one of the more durable players in baseball earlier in his career, but he sustained several freak injuries that landed him on the injured list with the Giants.
Longoria had a few bright moments with San Francisco, most notably leading the Giants to victory in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers by blasting a solo shot. That gave the Giants a 2-1 advantage in that series.
The right-handed bat finished his career with 1,930 hits, including 342 home runs, and 1,159 RBI. We at Around the Foghorn would like to congratulate him on a long and distinguished career, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.
