Evan Longoria, one of the most decorated players in Tampa Bay Rays history, will sign a one-day contract to officially retire with the franchise on June 7. The Rays will honor the 39-year-old third baseman in a pregame ceremony at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, ahead of their game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday, June 7 at 4:10 EDT.
Evan Longoria will sign a one-day contract and retire as a Tampa Bay Ray on June 7th.
Longoria won the 2008 AL Rookie of the Year, helping lead the Rays to the World Series. He won three Gold Gloves, is a three-time All-Star, and is the Rays all-time home run leader with 261 đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/yxcz3zMGiO
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 12, 2025
Longoria, who last played in 2023 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, helped lead that club to a National League pennant and his second career World Series appearance — a full 15 seasons after his first, which came as a rookie in 2008. He did not play during the 2024 season but had not formally announced his retirement until now.
A three-time All-Star and the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year, Longoria was selected third overall in the 2006 MLB Draft out of Long Beach State. He debuted with the Rays in April 2008 and quickly emerged as the face of the franchise. Over 10 seasons in Tampa Bay, he appeared in 1,435 games and remains the club’s all-time leader in Wins Above Replacement (51.7), home runs (261), RBIs (892), and extra-base hits (618).
I'll never forget Evan Longoria's walk-off homer that sent the Rays to the 2011 postseason 🥲 pic.twitter.com/0EhW7BHRwb
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) May 12, 2025
One of his signature moments came on the final day of the 2011 regular season, when Longoria hit a 12th-inning walk-off home run against the Yankees to send Tampa Bay to the playoffs. The home run capped off a dramatic comeback in the wild card race and is now commemorated with a statue of Longoria outside Gate 4 at Tropicana Field.
There's some new greatness at Gate 4! @RaysBaseball legend Akinori Iwamura came out to unveil his new statue, along with one of Evan Longoria, commemorating two major moments in Rays history. pic.twitter.com/CA3m3SxpbU
— Tropicana Field (@tropicanafield) September 23, 2023
Longoria also represented Team USA on the international stage. He was added to the United States roster during the second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, replacing an injured Chipper Jones. Longoria appeared in one game and went hitless in his only at-bat, as Team USA reached the semifinals before falling to Japan 9-4 at Dodger Stadium. That tournament appearance marked the furthest the United States had advanced at the time, predating their eventual championship run in 2017 under Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland.
Longoria’s brief WBC appearance came at a time when he was still establishing himself as one of the premier young stars in Major League Baseball. Just months earlier, he had burst onto the scene as AL Rookie of the Year and helped lead Tampa Bay to its first World Series.
He wrapped up his 16-year MLB career with a .264 batting average, 342 home runs, 1,159 RBIs, and 58.9 career WAR, according to Baseball-Reference. He was a three-time Gold Glove winner, earned a Silver Slugger in 2009, and received MVP votes in six different seasons.
Though he spent five years with the San Francisco Giants and one final season with Arizona, Longoria’s legacy is forever linked to Tampa Bay. He signed two contract extensions with the Rays — including a record-setting $100 million deal in 2012 — and became the first homegrown star to define the franchise.
He’ll return to the city where his career took off one last time on June 7, wearing a Rays uniform again, if only for a day.
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
