On Wednesday, Matt Moore and Christian Arroyo penned their goodbyes to the San Francisco Giants. Now it’s Denard Span’s turn.
Shortly after being traded along with Arroyo to the Tampa Bay Rays for Evan Longoria on Wednesday, Span texted his farewell to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday evening. Although he gets to return to his hometown of Tampa — for however long — Span wishes he could have played to his fullest potential for the Giants and hopes to return to the organization in some capacity in the future.
Text from Denard Span: "I'm not sure about my feelings about being traded. I had a feeling something might happen but hoped that it wouldnt because I wanted to finish off my contract in S.F. I was looking forward to helping the franchise turn around a bad season…..
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) December 22, 2017
"……… as was I motivated to show the Giants the real DENARD SPAN. My time in SF was difficult because I never got to show the fan base and organization my true skill set because of the injuries I suffered a few years back…..
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) December 22, 2017
"…. I enjoyed my short time there. The organization and my teammates were first class. Hope that one day I can either play or coach in a Giants uni."
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) December 22, 2017
In the two years he patrolled centerfield at AT&T Park, Span batted .268 with 23 home runs and 24 stolen bases from 2016-2017. His time with the Giants was plagued by several setbacks; including injuries to his thumb, hip, and shoulder over the course of 2017. Those injuries limited Span to play an average of 136 games each of the last two seasons and only 129 in 2017.
Those modest numbers were not the same as the Giants saw from Span during his time with the Washington Nationals. Span spent 2013-2015 in Washington D.C., where he finished with a .292 batting average, 62 stolen bases, and 14 homers. His best came in 2014 when he batted .302 with five home runs and 31 stolen bases in 147 games before the Giants eliminated the Nationals in the NLDS.
For now, it appears as if Span will be wearing a Tampa Bay uniform next season and while he’s excited at the possibility of playing in front of his hometown crowd, there’s a chance the Rays will try to flip him to another team before the end of the offseason.
I asked Denard if it was some consolation he got to play at home in Tampa. He said, "Yes, if I get to." Rays might flip him. #sfgiants
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) December 22, 2017