Evan Longoria would welcome contract extension with Rays

It’s going to be tough for Rays fans to watch Carl Crawford be introduced as a member of the Red Sox in the next few minutes, so I wanted to pass along some encouraging words from Evan Longoria.

According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the third baseman would welcome a contract extension that would put him in position to stay with the Rays for the rest of his career.

“Tampa Bay is the place I want to be for the rest of my career if I can,” Longoria, 25, said. “If there’s an opportunity to do something like that, I would think long and hard about it.”

Longoria signed a team-friendly six-year, $17.5 million extension with the Rays in April of 2008 and is owed $2 million in 2011, $4.5 million in 2012 and $6 million in 2013. His contract includes a $7.5 million club option for 2014 (or a $3 million buyout) and an $11.5 million club option for 2015.

While it’s great that he wants to stay in Tampa Bay for the long haul, chances are his next contract won’t be such a bargain. Longoria told Topkin that he would like a deal similar to the six-year, $119 million extension Troy Tulowitzki recently signed with the Rockies.