Diamondbacks sign Evan Longoria to 1 year, $4 million deal

First reported by Jon Heyman, the veteran 3rd baseman is joining the Arizona Diamondbacks on a 1-year contract.

After having his $13 million dollar contract option declined early in the off-season, rumors swirled that Longoria had three teams listed on his wishlist, with former employers the Giants and Rays squarely on that list. The surprise was seeing the Diamondbacks listed as well, as there wasn’t a clear connection between the two clubs. His wishlist then changed a couple of weeks later with “hopes to play one or two more years and is open to any competitive team.”

Depending on the role he’s expected to receive, he should fit in well with a young D-backs team. An injury-plagued year that limited Longoria to less than 300 at-bats but he still produced in that limited time, with a 114 OPS+ and 14 homers in his age 36 season. Most of his damage was done against left-handed pitching, as his 126 OPS+ (.812 OPS) against them was stellar. He was above average against righties, with a 107 OPS+ (.731 OPS). The defense continues to point in the wrong direction, as his DRS has dropped each year and he’s now a negative defender at the hot corner.

His fit on the team should hopefully be as a part-time player to balance out Josh Rojas at 3rd. His days of playing full-time should stay in the past and if he’s called into action there, it would only be to showcase him to other teams. Let’s just hope Torey and Hazen are on the same page there.