Rays Trade Longoria, Receive Prospects
On Wednesday morning news broke that the Tampa Bay Rays traded Evan Longoria to the Giants, and in return received Denard Span, Christian Arroyo, Matt Krook and Stephen Woods Jr.
Span is an established major leaguer, and will look to add depth to the Rays’ outfield. He’s a career .283 hitter over 10 years, and has double-digit homers and steals in each of the last two seasons.
Perhaps the key part of the deal is Arroyo, who prior to the trade was ranked the Giants’ №1 prospect, and the №57 prospect in all of baseball according to MLB.com.
The third baseman/shortstop missed the majority of 2017 because of an injured wrist and broken left hand. Still, in his limited time at Triple-A he batted .396 with four homers in 25 games for Sacramento. In his first taste of MLB-level baseball, the 22-year-old batted .192 in 34 games. Following the trade, MLB.com has him ranked the Rays’ №4 prospect, and don’t be surprised if the Tampa native sees time in Durham next season.
Krook and Woods Jr. are lower-level minor league pitchers, who would not be expected to contribute to Durham in 2018. Krook spent the 2017 campaign with Advanced-A San Jose, while Woods Jr. spent the season with Single-A Augusta, posting a 2.95 ERA in 23 starts.
