Hot stove is heating up. The Tampa Bay Rays have sent 3B and face-of-the-franchise Evan Longoria to the San Francisco Giants for 3B/SS Christian Arroyo, CF Denard Span, LHP Matt Krook and RHP Stephen Woods.
Looking to make another play-off run, the Giants have had the need at 3B since trading Eduardo Nunez. Arroyo was supposed to be that guy, but he\’s really just a SS, and struggled in 34 MLB games in 2017. Acquiring a star in Longoria fixes the problem. also, they trading Span, which opens up an OF spot for them to sign Lorenzo Cain, or trade for Andrew McCutchen or Christian Yelich.
Longoria, 32, hit .261 with 20 homers, 86 RBIs and six stolen bases in 677 Plate Appearances for the Rays in 2017. In his MLB career, all in Tampa, Longoria has a batting average of .270, 261 homers, 892 RBIs and 51 stolen bases in 6151 Plate Appearances.
It\’s time for the Rays to re-build again. The Yankees acquired Giancarlo Stanton, making them a powerhouse, the Red Sox already are good and might sign J.D. Martinez, and the Blue Jays are probably better than the Rays. The Rays are also shopping RHPs Chris Archer, Alex Colome and Jake Odorizzi. Trading Longoria makes sense, especially when getting Arroyo, baseball\’s 57th best prospect, in return. Span can play the outfield for the Rays until his deal is up.
Arroyo, 22, made his MLB debut in 2017, hitting .192 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 135 Plate Appearances.
Span, 33, hit .272 with 12 homers, 43 RBIs and 12 steals in 542 Plate Appearances for the Giants in 2017. In his MLB career for the Giants, Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals, Span has a batting average of .283, with 60 homers, 432 RBIs and 176 stolen bases in 5455 Plate Appearances.
Krook, 23, has a 5.25 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 146 strikeouts in 132 innings in his minor league career.
Woods, 22, has a 3.04 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 150 strikeouts in 145 innings in his MiLB career.
I think this is an even trade. The Rays get to the start of their re-build, while the Giants get much better.
CarterHud 