The Tampa Bay Rays may be ready to finally part with franchise cornerstone Evan Longoria.
The MLB Winter Meetings will take place Sunday-Thursday in Orlando, and reporter Jon Morosi says he expects Longoria to be mentioned in trade talks.
Evan Longoria is certain to be mentioned as a trade candidate in the coming week. When that happens, remember this: He leads @MLB with 798 games played over the last 5 seasons. He hasn’t spent a day on the DL during that span. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 10, 2017
Though many players have come and gone throughout the Rays’ history, Longoria is the one player they committed to. He has been with Tampa Bay since 2008.
Longoria is owed $86 million through 2022 (including a $5 million buyout), and has a $13 million team option for 2023. One reason they may be motivated to trade him now is because he will achieve 10/5 status early in the 2018 season if he remains with the Rays. 10/5 status means you have played 10 seasons in the bigs and five with the same team. Once you achieve that, you have the right to veto a trade.
In addition to Longoria, the Rays could deal other players this offseason, including Alex Colome. The Cardinals could be interested in Longoria.
