The Diamondbacks and free agent Evan Longoria agreed to terms on a one-year contract, according to multiple reports. Here’s what you need to know:
- Longoria spent the past five seasons with San Francisco and batted .244 with 14 home runs and 42 RBIs in 89 games last season.
- The three-time Gold Glove winner played 68 games at third base and 17 games as designated hitter in 2022.
- Longoria was a three-time All-Star and the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year with Tampa Bay.
Backstory
The Giants declined Longoria’s $13 million option in November, instead paying him a $5 million buyout and handing him an invitation to free agency for the first time in his 15-year career. The veteran third baseman posted a .812 OPS against lefties during the 2022 season and was leading the major leagues in production against southpaws in 2021 when he separated his shoulder in a collision with shortstop Brandon Crawford.
But Longoria acknowledged on the final weekend of the regular season that he wouldn’t command $8 million on the open market and signaled a willingness to meet the Giants at the bargaining table if they wished to explore bringing him back at a lower price point.
All about staying healthy
Longoria’s issue isn’t an erosion of baseball skills. He can still turn on a fastball, still produce at a high rate against left-handed pitchers and still put together a professional at-bat. He’s still sure-handed as a third baseman, too, with plenty of arm strength to make a wide variety of plays. Longoria’s issue is that his 37-year-old body keeps breaking down.
Along with the fluke injuries (a sprained shoulder he sustained in a collision with Crawford, a fractured thumb caused by a bad-hop grounder, a finger ligament he tore when hit by a pitch) are all the other leaks and blown gaskets: touch- and-go hamstrings, oblique strains, sore neck and sore feet. The Giants could not count on him to be an everyday player, which is why they turned down his $13 million option in favor of a $5 million buyout. — Baggarly
Off-the-field impacts
Longoria still has value as a veteran presence in the clubhouse and on the bench, and the Diamondbacks are the kind of team with a young core that can benefit from having more experience in the room. Longoria was a key conduit to the clubhouse for Giants manager Gabe Kapler and was always looking to encourage team bonding by organizing competitions or themed road trips or group outings.
He’ll probably be a ringleader in Arizona, too, and perhaps he’ll even help improve the strained relationship between the Diamondbacks and Madison Bumgarner. Longoria might have unwisely limited his market in October when he declared that he’d only be interested in signing with Arizona or Tampa Bay — the two places he has homes — if he didn’t return to the Giants. But the Diamondbacks must’ve been listening. — Baggarly
Required reading
(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
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