Denard Span says goodbye: "DC will always feel like home"

Denard Span is the latest Nationals free agent to officially leave Washington this offseason, signing a three-year, $31 million deal with the Giants on Thursday night. Span became one of the most beloved Nationals after arriving in D.C. in a trade with the Twins prior to the 2013 season.

Over the last three years, Span slashed .292/.345/.404 as the catalyst of the Nationals lineup while displaying show-stopping defense in center field. In 2014, Span tied for the National League lead with a club record 184 hits.

But a torn hip labrum forced season-ending surgery in late August 2015. Span, who turns 32 in February, called last year "a terrible eight months" after also undergoing two separate abdominal procedures that interfered with his season. He was limited to only 61 games in his final year with the Nationals, but still batted .301/.365/.431 with five homers and 11 stolen bases.

Span will face Washington for the first time during a four-game series at AT&T Park July 28-31. He'll make his return to Nationals Park with the Giants from Aug. 5-7.

This morning, Span issued the following message to Nationals fans on his Twitter account (@thisisdspan):

Ok I'm ready now.. Been up for an hour west coast time. Anyhow this is to my fans and supporters in DC. From the bottom of my heart....

-- Denard Span (@thisisdspan) January 8, 2016

I wanna say thank you for an amazing 3 years. I came to DC at the right time in my career and you guys took me in with much love and I'll

-- Denard Span (@thisisdspan) January 8, 2016

Forever be grateful for that. DC will always feel like home no matter what so Even though I'm ecstatic about my new journey this is a bit

-- Denard Span (@thisisdspan) January 8, 2016

Bittersweet.. #thankyou for the love and the many memories! #spanningout

-- Denard Span (@thisisdspan) January 8, 2016

I can't thank @denardspan enough for everything he taught me in the outfield and what he brought to the table for our team! The Giants organization got a great player, but an even better person! Appreciate brotha #MLB

A photo posted by Bryce Harper (@bharper3407) on Jan 8, 2016 at 11:03am PST