Former San Francisco Giants third baseman Evan Longoria will retire from baseball next month — but will re-sign with the Tampa Bay Rays first.
The 39-year-old, who started his career with the Rays, will sign a one-day contract with Tampa Bay on June 7, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin.
Longoria did not play in the Majors last season but didn’t officially retire.
The one-day contract gives him a chance to retire as a Ray and to take part in a pre-game ceremony celebrating his retirement, much like the one Giants great Brandon Crawford had earlier this year.
The ceremony is set to the day of Longoria’s arrival in the Majors.
Tampa Bay traded Longoria to San Francisco in late 2017 for four players. Then 32 years old, he played the next five seasons for the Giants but wasn’t an everyday player for San Francisco in the final two years of his career.
After dealing with injuries throughout 2022, the Giants opted not to take Longoria up on his final contract year option and allowed him to hit free agency.
In five seasons with San Francisco he slashed .250/.312/.438 with 70 home runs and 239 RBI.
From a power standpoint, 2019 was his best season in the Bay Area, as he slammed 20 home runs and drove in 69 RBI.
Longoria was the Rays’ first-round pick in 2006 out of Long Beach State and made his MLB debut two years later. He became an immediate hit with the Tampa Bay fan base and was the American League Rookie of the Year after he slashed .272/.343/.531 with 27 home runs and 85 RBI.
He also helped the Rays to their first World Series appearance that season, as they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Longoria was named an AL All-Star each of his first three years in the Majors and he played his first 10 seasons with Tampa Bay where he finished with a slash of .270/.341/.483, 261 home runs and 892 RBI.
He is the all-time franchise leader in home runs, RBI and wins above replacement (51.7).
He won all three of his Gold Gloves and his Silver Slugger with the Rays. He finished in the Top 20 of AL MVP voting six times, finishing in sixth place twice.
After he played for the Giants, he played one season with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023. He slashed .223/.295/.422 with 11 home runs and 28 RBI as a part-time player. He was with the Diamondbacks for the run to the World Series, where they lost to the Texas Rangers.
For his career, Longoria slashed .264/.333/.471 with 342 home runs and 1,159 RBI.
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