Giants Must Recognize Who Evan Longoria Is Now, Not His Glittery Past

Five years ago, Evan Longoria to the Giants would have been a massive trade. It also would have meant the end of Pablo Sandoval at his mythological height.
 
Since then, Longoria's career has crested, and he is objectively a middle-range third baseman now. He is also 32 years old, which means that his time as an impact player is probably short. The glory days in Tampa have come and gone, as they do for us all.
 
On the other hand, he is a measurable upgrade over all the other third basemen the Giants have, either now or in the recognizable future, so given the team's sub-modest place in the game now, this is indeed their version of a blockbuster. Maybe not anyone else's, but surely theirs.
 
Then again, it's like what they say about puppy love – it matters most to the puppies.
 
Longoria is a name of the past more than the present, and he will not present the Giants with a recognizable answer to the team's power issues; his offensive WAR in 2017 was its lowest in five seasons. His defense, though, is a definite advancement (his defensive WAR was its best since 2013).
 
But he also will not be able to be the designated hitter for two weeks out of the season, which means he will have to gear up for a 150-plus game season again. He will more than earn his $13,500,000 salary, and the cost of Denard Span, Christian Arroyo, and minor leaguers Stephen Woods and Matt Krook, is easily swallowed by this team. Indeed, his contract stretches out to 2022, but that's less important than whether his career does.
 
He became available because Tampa Bay wanted to get out from under his remaining $86 million in contractual obligations as well as move him before his 10-year trade rights kicked in. But Florida is where salary dumps are commonplace, so the Giants seized on an opportunity even from their current position of weakness.
 
So as long as the Giants don't get too excited by his glittery past and recognize what he is now, Longoria is a good and proper get for them, and at a decent but not onerous price. He isn't Giancarlo Stanton, but that ship was never leaving port anyway. If Evan Longoria is the biggest name they acquire in this mostly blah off-season, then they call it a break-even and return to the greater task – building a farm system that allows them to be in on better conversations in future offseasons.