Evan Longoria, Face of Rays Franchise, Traded To Giants

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - The Tampa Bay Rays have traded Evan Longoria to San Francisco in exchange for outfielder Denard Span, infielder Christian Arroyo, and minor league pitchers Matt Krook and Stephen Woods Jr., according to the team.

Arroyo, a 22-year-old infielder from Brooksville, is considered one of the Giants' top prospects. Arroyo is the key return in the trade as the shortstop was a first-round pick in the 2013 draft.

Longoria, 32, considered the greatest player in franchise history, would have attained no-trade rights in April after playing for the same team for 10 years.

On his Instagram account, Longoria wrote: "Every day I was a Ray was special. From the bottom of our hearts, my family and I say THANK YOU! Thank you for making the Tampa Bay Area a community my family and I loved being a part of. We will never forget that."

The All-Star third baseman is owed $86 million over the next five seasons and $13.5 million in 2018. He was drafted by the Rays as a first-round pick in 2006 and reached the majors in April 2008.

"Evan is our greatest Ray. For a decade, he's been at the center of all of our successes, and it's a very emotional parting for us all," principal owner Stuart Sternberg said in a press release. "I speak for our entire organization in wishing Evan and his wonderful family our absolute best."

Longoria earned three All-Star nods and three Gold Glove awards. He leaves the team as the franchise leader in games played, runs scored, doubles, home runs and RBIs. After a strong 2016 campaign, Longoria struggled to a .261 average in 2017.

"Erik (Neander) and Matt (Silverman) and the front office have been very open and communicated from Day 1," Longoria said on the Rays website. "They kind of, not without letting me dictate it on my own terms, were very open to letting me go somewhere where they felt like I had the best opportunity as a player to win, and also for them to be able to accomplish what they want to accomplish in trying to rebuild the franchise. I was very clear to them that my hope was that if this did happen, that it would be a win for both sides."

"[Arroyo] has a tremendous opportunity to bring new life to that organization," Longoria said of the Giant prospect. "That was kind of the way I looked at it when I was a young player, and I think he'll have the same opportunity. I know that it's probably hard for the fan base to see right now. But obviously in the recent past, you look at what the Astros did, and I think that's kind of the arc that the Rays would like to take now and build a core group of young players that they can build off of."

The Rays have been trying to trim payroll for next season despite already having one of the lowest payrolls in the majors at about $79 million. This is not expected to be the last off-season trade as the Rays could also move closer Alex Colome and pitcher Jake Odorizzi. Pitcher Chris Archer also has been rumored to be on the trading block, possibly to the Cubs.

The Rays have had one of the lowest payrolls in the majors since the team started playing in St. Petersburg in 1998. The team also has generally ranked at the bottom each year in major league attendance. The Rays are looking to move into a new stadium in the future with a possible site near Ybor City in Tampa or other possible sites in Pinellas County. The location of the Rays' Tropicana Field stadium in downtown St. Petersburg has been blamed for the low attendance figures over the years.

"This move fills an important need for our club and completes one of our off-season goals," Giants executive vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean said. "Evan has been one of the best third baseman 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."

In recent years, Longoria has been involved in various charity efforts, including raising money for the Pet Pal animal shelter. He also is co-owner of the Ducky's Sports Lounge in downtown Tampa.

It is a bitter irony for Rays fans that Longoria joins All-Star catcher Buster Posey with the Giants. The failure of the Rays to draft Posey in 2008 is considered one of the biggest mistakes made by the front office in the Rays relatively short history. Instead of drafting Posey, the Rays took Tim Beckham, a high school shortstop, with the first overall pick in the draft. The Rays traded Beckham, who never lived up to being a first round talent, to the Orioles last year for a minor league pitcher.

Caption: Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria hits a RBI-double off Baltimore Orioles reliever Brad Brach during the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in St. Petersburg. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)