The American League East in MLB has started to become busy with trades. The Yankees attained the NL MVP, Giancarlo Stanton who was on the trade block for quite some time, and the Red Sox re-signed Mitch Moreland. But now an even bigger story has surfaced. The Tampa Bay Rays made a big move in baseball by trading Evan Longoria to the San Fransico Giants. The Giants get Evan Longoria for Christian Arroyo, Denard Span, Matt Krook and Stephen Woods.

The Giants are also receiving cash in the Longoria trade. Longoria is a fantastic ballplayer but a bit past his prime. It Will be interesting to see how the park affects his production.

Evan Longoria

With Evan Longoria, the San Francisco Giants will be acquiring a 3-time All-Star who has appeared in the most games (798) of any MLB player over the past 5 seasons. This is inevitably a good fit for a team that struggled with injuries in 2017. Evan Longoria has been known for playing well against the American League East, by hitting many home runs. A gold glove third baseman that can get you 20 homers and 90 RBI is definitely satisfying, but the Giants still need pitching.

Good pickup

The Giants picking up Longoria is a good move as Longoria hit 20-plus homers for five straight years and 9 times in the last 10 years. The Giants haven’t had a 20-HR guy since 2015, so picking up Longoria will definitely help them in that category. In regards to Tampa, Evan Longoria going to the San Fransico Giants could impact Chris Archer’s status now. Tampa could decide to move him for a potential impact bat.

With Tampa trading Longoria, their rebuild is on. This could be a very good start for them. Two teams have now traded the best players in their history this month: Stanton by the Miami Marlins and Longoria by the Tampa Bay Rays. Some could argue that Longoria was underpaid based on his performance.

At the end of the day, you don’t get awarded a golden glove for average work. Of course, Evan Longoria isn't the only standout player that Rays have had. Let's not forget Kevin Kiermaier who has been a great defensive player for the Rays.

To conclude

Despite what critics may say, this is a good deal for the Giants. Although they lost a solid prospect in Arroyo, they have gained a bat. With today's salary demands, 4 years at 18 million isn't the end of the world and worth the risk for a guy playing in his mid 30's while under contract. The Giants acquired a missing piece of their puzzle and they can continue to work on other areas to improve their team.