Could Longoria be in the majors soon?

Originally posted by Mark Leff on Apr 11th, 2008 at 7:00 PM.

Is it Evan Longoria time?

The Rays have not confirmed the current suspicion that Evan Longoria’s major league debut is not too long away, but Longoria was not included in the Bulls’ lineup in Durham tonight. Durham’s radio broadcast made the unconfirmed claim that Longoria is indeed headed to the show.

Even though the claim was not officially confirmed, Rays manager Joe Maddon said that Longoria may be called up to replace injured third baseman Willy Aybar. That, of course, depends on the results of Aybar’s MRI and whether or not he is headed for the DL.

The only other option to replace a third baseman would be Joel Guzman, who is playing in Durham tonight, making him a highly unlikely candidate.

If Longoria does indeed make his way to Tampa Bay, his stay will most likely be temporary. Aybar will probably take Longoria’s place as soon as he is healthy enough to play, in part to prevent Longoria from becoming a “Super Two” player and being eligible for salary arbitration with less than three years of service. But if Longoria becomes 2008’s Ryan Braun and dazzles opposing pitchers, he might find a more permanent position.

Longoria showed he was the Rays’ best option at third base in spring training, and why he was not there to start the season is a mystery. But all the hype on Longoria is accurate. He is the real deal and has a good chance, if he gets called up, to win himself a permanent spot on Tampa Bay’s roster.

My advice is to snag Evan Longoria as soon as he is available. Even given the chance that he will not succeed, Longoria makes for an excellent sleeper. Most teams at this point have at least one bench player putting up mediocre numbers, and Longoria, in a worst case scenario, will perform at least that well.