Evan Longoria spent 10 seasons as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays before leaving for the San Francisco Giants, now the three-time All-Star is suggesting that the franchise might be better off doing the same.

The 32-year-old tells the Tampa Bay Times that efforts to keep baseball in Tampa long term might turn out to be a waste of time.

"Honestly, and this is maybe not something I should say, but my gut tells me that the best decision might be to move the team,'' Longoria told the Tampa Bay Times.”  I say that only because I look at the example of the Miami Marlins, and (a new stadium) didn't really solve their attendance issues. So from purely an attendance standpoint, somewhere else might be better.''

The Rays routinely are at or near the bottom of Major League Baseball in attendance and the 2018 season is no different.  They are currently 28th with only the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins behind them in the rankings.

"It pains me to say that, but players want to play in a place where you have consistent support,'' Longoria told the Times.”  It's a selfish thing to say probably as a player, but, I don't know, does anyone really want to play in front of 10,000 a night? I don't know. I'm glad I won't have to hear the backlash again this time (for making comments about attendance, as when he played there).”

The Rays were established in 1998 and had a period of success from their first division crown and World Series appearance in 2008, through 2013 when they were a Wild Card team an ultimately lost in the ALDS.

They have only drawn more than two million fans in a season once when they hit 2,506,293 in their first season of existence