Tampa Bay Rays say goodbye to Evan Longoria

The face of the franchise for nearly a decade, Evan Longoria was traded by the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday to the San Francisco Giants for four players.

The Tampa Bay Times was the first to report the trade.

The last member of the 2008 American League champion Rays still with the club, Longoria will make $13.5 million in 2018 and has $86 million remaining on a contract that runs through 2022.

“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,” Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said. “I speak for our entire organization in wishing Evan and his wonderful family our absolute best.”

With the Rays looking to shed salary and rebuild their minor-league system, Longoria was a hot topic at the winter meetings last week in Lake Buena Vista.

Longoria, 32, won his third Gold Glove in 2017 but struggled offensively, hitting .261 with 20 homers and 86 RBIs.

Veteran outfielder Denard Span is among those heading to the Rays, along with infielder Christian Arroyo and minor-league pitchers Stephen Woods and Matt Krook.

This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Tampa Bay Rays say goodbye to Evan Longoria."