San Francisco Giants Rumors: Team gauging interest in Evan Longoria trade
As the offseason rebuild continues, the latest San Francisco Giants rumors suggest Evan Longoria has found his way onto the trade block.
It’s been a busy (albeit not super productive) offseason for the San Francisco Giants, who have been more talk than walk in the last couple of months. However, as the latest rumors would have you believe, an Evan Longoria trade could be in the works.
Those rumors originated with MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who’s been hearing that the Giants are gauging trade interest in the 33-year-old third baseman.
Word going around is, #SFGiants have been gauging trade interest in Evan Longoria. Rivals believe it would take big bucks to offset his contract to move him. Has $72.5M to go through 2022 plus $2M assignment bonus if traded (Tampa Bay chipped in $14.5M to trade him last year).
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 19, 2019
As Heyman alludes to, trading Longoria could be a costly endeavor for the Giants. With $72.5 million still remaining on his contract and a $2 million assignment bonus, San Francisco would have to toss in big bucks to make a trade work.
Then again, the Tampa Bay Rays did the same when they shipped him to the Bay Area last year.
Either way, it’s an interesting development that does in fact prove Farhan Zaidi is willing to move whatever pieces necessary to get this club going back in the right direction. He’s already made Madison Bumgarner available for trade, and seems willing to at least consider moving Longoria as well.
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It makes sense, though, right?
Longoria, a three-time All-Star, is coming off arguably his worst MLB season to date. In his first and only campaign with the Giants, he managed career lows in batting average (.244), on-base percentage (.281) and home runs (16). He slashed .244/.281/.413 while failing to live up to the hype that he carried with him to San Francisco.
At 33 years old, Longoria also doesn’t fit the club’s new direction. Zaidi looks to be starting a youth movement in the Bay Area, and pruning out some of the older bodies on the roster (i.e. Bumgarner, Longoria) follows that mindset.
I’m sure Longoria’s recent Instagram outburst about players getting paid probably didn’t help his cause.
If the Giants can find a taker for the aging Longoria and his expensive contract, don’t be surprised to see Zaidi pull the trigger. San Francisco needs to trim some of the fat, and moving Longoria for prospects while also shedding his salary seems ideal. Then again, the whole finding a taker part of the equation may not come as easily as the Giants would like.
Next. Trade partner emerges for Madison Bumgarner. dark
Time is running out for Longoria, who appears to be on the downward slope of his MLB career. It may be difficult for the Giants to find a trade partner after last season’s less-than-stellar performance. Then again, that may be why we’re only hearing about them “gauging interest” instead of having actual trade discussions.