ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — We never wanted any of them to leave.

Not Longo and not CC. Not Price, not Snell, not Kiermaier, not Zobrist.

All of the greatest players in Rays history have eventually been traded or walked away because of money issues. It’s the reality of the game, and the ramifications of a market that has always been near the bottom of Major League Baseball in producing revenue.

In the end, they had to go for the good of the team.

Which brings us to today and another economic crossroads for another team icon.

Either Stuart Sternberg secures the future of the franchise by moving forward with the redevelopment/stadium deal, or he needs to promptly sell the Rays.

For the good of the team.

I would like to say it’s that simple, but of course it’s not. This is a two-decade saga that has finally reached an untenable point. If Sternberg does not fulfill the March 31 deadline for the new stadium, there is no conceivable pathway for him to get a ballpark built here.

Not in Pinellas County, and not in Hillsborough. There is too much bad blood, too much mistrust.

And, considering MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s public optimism about Tampa Bay as a market, that means selling the team is the best option available. Unless Sternberg wants to play in a dilapidated Tropicana Field indefinitely or challenge MLB by attempting to move out of market.

The situation has progressed beyond unfortunate. It’s heartbreaking, if you want to know the truth.

The Rays, as a franchise, deserved better. They’ve been one of the top five teams in the majors for nearly 20 years, and yet support at the Trop has never reflected that. There are a lot of reasons but, frankly, no precedent for it. In the history of Major League Baseball, there has never been a team that has won as consistently as Tampa Bay while lingering near the bottom of the league in attendance year after year.

And yet the Rays have squandered much of that moral high ground in recent months.

To the point that you could now make an argument that Tampa Bay, as a market, deserves better. The Rays have essentially hidden in a bunker since the Pinellas County Commission made a foolhardy decision to delay the stadium project over a nonsensical issue about a temporary home for the team in 2025. Were the Rays angry about the delay? Yes. Did the delay cost them money in future construction costs? Possibly.

The Rays have always been fearful of pouring money into a stadium that does not provide enough revenue to make the investment worthwhile. (Just ask the Marlins what that looks like.) And it appears Sternberg now has second thoughts about whether a new stadium at the Trop site will generate sufficient funds, especially if the cost of building the facility has risen.

Agree with him or not, it’s a legitimate point of concern for a businessman.

The problem is, the Rays have not adequately explained these concerns. They have not given fans any reassurance. They have not kept business partners in the loop. They have not stood behind the politicians and local leaders who put their necks on the line for a deal that could include more than $740 million in public funds, not to mention millions more as part of a sweetheart real estate deal.

Deservedly or not, the Rays have lost the PR battle. They’ve portrayed themselves as victims, which is a hard sell when you’ve been offered three-quarters of a billion dollars from a community recovering from two hurricanes.

If they’ve decided it’s not in their best interests to go through with the new stadium, that’s fine. Explain your reasoning, and put the team up for sale. Hire a broker, and find a deal that makes economic sense for you and allows Tampa Bay a fresh look at building a stadium.

The worst thing you can do is drag it out.

That wouldn’t be good for MLB or for the players. And it certainly wouldn’t be good for Tampa Bay fans. Maybe the Rays have not been supported in a way commensurate with the team’s success, but that’s not the fault of the families, the retirees, the young professionals who can’t afford season tickets.

I have no problem saying that Sternberg’s arrival was the best thing to ever happen to this franchise.

And it’s not even close.

He rescued the Rays at a time when the franchise was floundering. He brought in smart people, fresh ideas and more wins than any small-revenue team in baseball. He made the Rays the envy of fans in practically every market outside of Los Angeles and New York.

Like Evan Longoria, he should have been able to stay here for as long as he wanted.

Unfortunately, that’s not how baseball works in the 21st century.

Sometimes, it’s best to move on. For the good of the team.

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