SF Giants: Evan Longoria placed on IL; what does his future entail?
Evan Longoria’s wife, Jaime, and their three kids were in town this last home stand. It was a special occasion; they’ve spent most of the past three seasons living in Arizona while dad plays baseball in San Francisco.
Two kids, Elle and Nash, spent an inning introducing Giants hitters over the loudspeakers.
If that was it in San Francisco, it was a nice way to go out.
Just before the Giants celebrated a walk-off win Sunday afternoon, Longoria was struck in the top half of the 10th inning by a hard ground ball that took a bad hop and caused the normally sure-handed third baseman to muff a possible double play. The ball, which left Arizona first baseman Christian Walker’s bat at 100.9 mph, hit Longoria on his right hand and fractured his thumb, the Giants announced Monday.
Longoria was placed on the injured list, ending his season with three games left.
Depending on decisions made this offseason, it could also mean the end of his tenure with the Giants.
The club holds an option for next season: they can either pay him $13 million to play for them, at age 37, fully realizing the original extension he signed with Tampa Bay; or, they buy him out for $5 million, and Longoria would become a free agent for the first time in his career.
Longoria, who has contemplated retirement, said he wants to come back and play if his option is picked up; he has never experienced free agency and would likely explore his options elsewhere if the Giants opt to buy him out. He also told reporters in San Diego that he would be open to renegotiating with the Giants.
When healthy, Longoria has been one of the Giants’ most productive hitters; however, injuries have marred his past two seasons. His thumb was the fourth body part to force him to the injured list this season.
In five seasons with San Francisco, Longoria has batted .251/.312/.438 (a .750 OPS) with 70 home runs. Despite missing 154 games the past two seasons, Longoria was fifth on the team in home runs (27), fourth in RBIs (88) and eighth in fWAR (3.0) since the start of 2021.
Off the field, Longoria has also served as an important clubhouse presence and mentor for rookies such as David Villar.
“Especially defensively, I’m learning from Longo,” Villar said in a recent interview. “Just talking to him about certain plays. Even in pregame warm-ups, he’s challenging me to do something that may benefit me down the road.”
Longoria could be an attractive part-time option for the Giants, with Villar making a strong case this September for a place on the Opening Day roster and another third base prospect, Casey Schmitt, reaching Triple-A this season.
Notable
- The Giants made a number of other roster moves in addition to placing Longoria on the IL. Left-handed reliever Thomas Szapucki (right hip strain) was also placed on the injured list, and left-handed starter Alex Wood was transferred to the 60-day IL. Another left-handed reliever, Andrew Vasquez, was called up from Triple-A, along with speedy outfielder Bryce Johnson. Vasquez, if he pitches, will be the 66th player used by the Giants this season, increasing a club record. He has an 8.10 ERA in 21 big-league appearances, including eight this season with Toronto, but has a 2.20 ERA since joining Triple-A Sacramento.
- Left-hander Carlos Rodón is scheduled to start Tuesday, but he may not make it. His agent, Scott Boras, told the San Francisco Chronicle that Rodón had reached his innings limit for the year — 178, almost 50 more than last year — but emphasized the Cy Young contender was fully healthy. Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters pregame that the Giants were still weighing their options. The Giants decided over the weekend to skip Logan Webb‘s final start.
- Kapler let slip a bit of information Sunday and confirmed it with reporters before Monday’s game. While the Giants initially announced that infielder Tommy La Stella had offseason surgery on his left Achilles sheath, he actually had operations on both ankles. La Stella was told last week he could go home and prepare for 2023.