Evan Longoria Returning To Action

Now, however, the Rays will have him back:

Longoria did play Sunday for his final rehab game:

Longoria felt soreness while running to first base in a game for triple-A Durham, and was removed for a pinch-runner. He will rejoin the Rays in Washington on Tuesday and continue his rehab with the team.

For more on the Rays, please visit DRays Bay and SB Nation Tampa Bay.

The Rays could use Longoria’s bat. They were 15-8 when he got hurt and are 20-20 without him.

For more on the Rays, please visit DRays Bay and SB Nation Tampa Bay.

On that note - general manager Andrew Friedman:

In reality, no baseball team would be crippled by the loss of one player. But if a team could be crippled by the loss of one player, it’d be a player a lot like Evan Longoria. This is somewhat short-term, but it’s also something significant.

There are already reports that this injury is moderately serious:

UPDATE: Though this was speculation on Marc Topkin’s part earlier Tuesday, and the Rays had denied it at the time, Topkin tweeted confirmation late Tuesday afternoon:

Longoria is “a little bit sore behind the knee,” manager Joe Maddon said, and will undergo further testing, and likely an MRI, on Tuesday.Longoria slid into second base on a stolen-base attempt on Monday night, lost his balance after popping up, and extended his leg awkwardly.

It was kind of a David Lee Roth move, if you think about it. Would have been cool if he had meant to do it. Which he didn’t. Ouch.