The Giants already have two faces of their franchise, Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner, but earlier this week, San Francisco hit the trade market to acquire another player who’s familiar with shouldering the weight of an entire organization.
With the Giants in need of a third baseman, general manager Bobby Evans swung a deal for former Tampa Bay Rays’ veteran Evan Longoria, who spent the first 10 seasons of his career becoming the team’s first homegrown star.
Longoria was drafted by the Rays and won the 2008 Rookie of the Year Award in Tampa Bay before embarking on a journey that made him one of the state’s most beloved sports figures. In his first season with the club, Longoria played a critical role in leading the team to a World Series appearance, as Tampa Bay lost in five games to the Philadelphia Phillies.
After being dealt to San Francisco earlier this week, Longoria thanked Rays’ fans and the franchise for their continued support, but on Saturday, he took his appreciation to another level. Longoria took out a full-page ad in the Tampa Bay Times, thanking the Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg communities that he said “accepted me as their own.”
Cool thank you from @Evan3Longoria to #Rays, fans and others in today’s @TB_Times: pic.twitter.com/jJ8Hi1pOK3
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) December 23, 2017