The Arizona Diamondbacks began their surprising postseason run with back-to-back sweeps of the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers, then eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series to advance to their first World Series since 2001.
The Diamondbacks were led by sensational rookie Corbin Carroll and several veterans, including Evan Longoria, who joined the team on a one-year contract the previous offseason.
Longoria is not the player he once was with the Tampa Bay Rays, but still had some memorable moments and provided leadership to a young Diamondbacks clubhouse.
During an appearance on the “Just Baseball Show,” Walker Buehler said he enjoyed watching Longoria find a home with the Diamondbacks this past season:
“I think the most fun thing to me has been to watch Longo with this young group of guys. The big play in Milwaukee was fun. He’s the oldest guy on the field, and he makes this crazy, jumping, spinning, throwing play. I played against him a lot in San Fran, and know a lot of people that know him well. I don’t know him super well, but I always think it’s fun when there’s a guy that’s kind of on the way out and he signs that one deal where you’re like, ‘Oh man, you didn’t have to sign that. But I get it. You still want to play.’ Then he kind of turns that team around. I think that’s probably my favorite storyline of it.”
Longoria hit just .223/.295/.422 with nine doubles, 11 home runs and 28 RBI in 73 games this year. Although his production fell off from the previous season, he still advanced to the World Series for the first time since his rookie campaign with the Rays in 2008.
At 38 years old, Longoria will likely continue his career next season in hopes of getting back to the Fall Classic and winning a championship.
Will Evan Longoria return to Diamondbacks for 2024 season?
With the Diamondbacks recently completing a trade for Eugenio Suárez, Longoria will presumably be playing elsewhere next season. However, he theoretically could return to the team in a lesser role and receive most of his opportunities off the bench or as the designated hitter.
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