Giants acquire Evan Longoria, cash from Rays for 4 players
Janie Mccauley, Ap Baseball Writer
Updated 1:29 pm, Wednesday, December 20, 2017
FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2011, file photo, Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria, center, celebrates with teammates Sean Rodriguez, left, and Elliot Johnson after his home run that defeated the New York Yankees 8-7 and clinched the AL wild card for the Rays, after a baseball game in St. Petersburg, Fla. The San Francisco Giants have acquired infielder Evan Longoria and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Denard Span, infielder Christian Arroyo and two minor league pitchers. The teams announced the moves Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017.
lessFILE - In this Sept. 29, 2011, file photo, Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria, center, celebrates with teammates Sean Rodriguez, left, and Elliot Johnson after his home run that defeated the New York Yankees 8-7 and
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FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2017, file photo, Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria follows through on a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the third inning of a baseball game, in Baltimore. The San Francisco Giants have acquired infielder Evan Longoria and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Denard Span, infielder Christian Arroyo and two minor league pitchers. The teams announced the moves Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017.
lessFILE - In this Sept. 22, 2017, file photo, Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria follows through on a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the third inning of a baseball game, in Baltimore. The San Francisco
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FILe - This is a June 7, 2006, file photo showing Tampa Bay Devil Rays' third pick overall in the 2006, Evan Longoria, taking a look around Tropicana Field for the first time in a Devil Rays uniform, St. Petersburg, Fla. The San Francisco Giants have acquired infielder Evan Longoria and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Denard Span, infielder Christian Arroyo and two minor league pitchers. The teams announced the moves Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017.
lessFILe - This is a June 7, 2006, file photo showing Tampa Bay Devil Rays' third pick overall in the 2006, Evan Longoria, taking a look around Tropicana Field for the first time in a Devil Rays uniform, St.
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FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2008, file photo, Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria makes a curtain call in the seventh inning as fans applaud his third home run of the baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, in St. Petersburg, Fla. The San Francisco Giants have acquired infielder Evan Longoria and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Denard Span, infielder Christian Arroyo and two minor league pitchers. The teams announced the moves Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017.
lessFILE - In this Sept. 18, 2008, file photo, Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria makes a curtain call in the seventh inning as fans applaud his third home run of the baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, in St.
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FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2017, file photo, San Francisco Giants' Denard Span watches his RBI double during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, in San Diego. The San Francisco Giants have acquired infielder Evan Longoria and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Denard Span, infielder Christian Arroyo and two minor league pitchers. The teams announced the moves Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017.
lessFILE - In this Aug. 29, 2017, file photo, San Francisco Giants' Denard Span watches his RBI double during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, in San Diego. The San Francisco
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FILE - In this May 20, 2017, file photo, San Francisco Giants' Christian Arroyo drives in two runs with a double in the 13th inning during a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, in St. Louis. At right are Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and home plate umpire Vic Carapazza. The San Francisco Giants have acquired infielder Evan Longoria and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Denard Span, infielder Christian Arroyo and two minor league pitchers. The teams announced the moves Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017. (Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File)
lessFILE - In this May 20, 2017, file photo, San Francisco Giants' Christian Arroyo drives in two runs with a double in the 13th inning during a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, in St. Louis. At right
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FILE- In this July 7, 2017 file photo, San Francisco Giants' Denard Span celebrates after hitting a home run against the Miami Marlins during the ninth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco. The San Francisco Giants have acquired infielder Evan Longoria and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Denard Span, infielder Christian Arroyo and two minor league pitchers. The teams announced the moves Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017.
lessFILE- In this July 7, 2017 file photo, San Francisco Giants' Denard Span celebrates after hitting a home run against the Miami Marlins during the ninth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco. The San
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FILE - This is a 2017 photo showing Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. The San Francisco Giants have acquired infielder Evan Longoria and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Denard Span, infielder Christian Arroyo and two minor league pitchers. The teams announced the moves Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017.
lessFILE - This is a 2017 photo showing Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. The San Francisco Giants have acquired infielder Evan Longoria and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Denard Span,
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FILE - In this May 3, 2017, file photo, San Francisco Giants' Christian Arroyo reacts after striking out during the tenth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, in Los Angeles. The San Francisco Giants have acquired infielder Evan Longoria and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Denard Span, infielder Christian Arroyo and two minor league pitchers. The teams announced the moves Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017.
lessFILE - In this May 3, 2017, file photo, San Francisco Giants' Christian Arroyo reacts after striking out during the tenth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, in Los Angeles. The San
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Giants acquire Evan Longoria, cash from Rays for 4 players
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants found the offense-producing third baseman they sought this offseason, acquiring Evan Longoria and cash from the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday for outfielder Denard Span, infielder Christian Arroyo and two minor league pitchers.
The 32-year-old Longoria leaves Tampa Bay as the longest-tenured player in franchise history, after spending nearly 10 seasons in a Rays uniform. He is the club's all-time leader with 1,435 games played, 261 home runs and 892 RBIs. Of the 30 postseason games in Rays history, all 30 have featured Longoria starting at third base.
Longoria batted .261 with 20 homers and 86 RBIs last season. He is expected to fill a significant void for San Francisco at third, where the Giants mixed and matched during a surprising last-place season in 2017. Longoria has played at least 156 games in each of the past five seasons. He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2008 and won three Gold Gloves.
"Evan gives us a Gold Glove-caliber player at third base and also provides us a middle of the order presence in the lineup," Giants general manager Bobby Evans said. "His durability and leadership will strengthen our club moving forward."
In November 2012, Longoria received a $136.6 million, 10-year contract with Tampa Bay that added six guaranteed seasons and $100 million to his previous deal. It includes a team option for 2023 that could make the agreement worth $144.6 million over 11 years.
Rays general manager Erik Neander said trading Longoria "was in the best long-term interest of our franchise."
"The decision itself was one that was incredibly difficult for us to make," Neander said.
The 33-year-old Span has hit .283 with 60 homers and 432 RBIs over 10 years in the majors, but San Francisco was looking for more athleticism and steady defense in the outfield. In fact, manager Bruce Bochy had approached Span about the possibility of playing left field going forward. Span led the Giants last season with 73 runs scored despite a stint on the 10-day disabled list. He previously played for the Nationals and the Twins.
Arroyo, a first-round draft pick out of high school in 2013, was one of the Giants' top prospects but didn't play in the majors after June 2 because of a broken left hand. He batted .192 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 34 games. The Giants also are sending right-hander Stephen Woods and left-hander Matt Krook to the Rays.
San Francisco, which won World Series titles in 2010, '12 and '14, made its first big offseason move after missing out on Giancarlo Stanton and Japanese star Shohei Ohtani. The Giants went 64-98 to avoid the club's first 100-loss season since 1985.
"This move fills an important need for our club and completes one of our offseason goals," said Brian Sabean, Giants executive vice president of baseball operations. "Evan has been one of the best third basemen in the game over the last decade and we are thrilled to add him to the organization. Moving forward, we will continue to work on additional opportunities to improve the club for 2018."
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