Report: Rays to consider trade offers for Longoria
It's only been two days since a report surfaced claiming the Tampa Bay Rays weren't interested in dealing third baseman Evan Longoria, but things may have already changed.
Tampa will indeed consider trade offers for Longoria, reports FOX Sports' Jon Morosi, with one possibility being the Los Angeles Dodgers if they're unable to re-sign Justin Turner.
Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman did say the club was "open to everything" earlier this week, and that he planned to use the trade market to his club's advantage.
"The trade market is our primary avenue to address those needs," Silverman said, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. "It's market-driven based on the teams' interest in our players, what (teams) provide to us that meets those needs, both short term and long term."
The 31-year-old Longoria has spent his entire nine-year career with the Rays, amassing a .271/.344/.490 slash line to go along with 241 home runs and 806 RBIs. He hit 36 long balls for the Rays in 2016, the most of his MLB career.
Longoria is set to earn $13-million next season and is under contract until 2022, with a team option for 2023.