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Disabled Rays: First Crawford, Now Longoria

The Associated Press

Evan Longoria has a nondisplaced wrist fracture that was originally mistaken for an old injury.

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 12, 2008

Updated:

SAN FRANCISCO - The Rays didn't play a game Monday, but they may have suffered their biggest setback of the season.

A second look at third baseman Evan Longoria's sore right wrist revealed a non-displaced fracture that was mistaken for an old injury in the initial X-rays taken after he was hit by a pitch Thursday night.

Rather than returning to the lineup tonight in Oakland as he had predicted Sunday, Longoria was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 8. He likely will miss about three weeks, according to Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman.

Making matters worse, the Rays could determine by today that Carl Crawford needs to undergo surgery to repair the tendon problem in his right hand that forced the All-Star left fielder to the disabled list Sunday. Such a procedure wouldn't necessarily end his season, but likely would sideline him well into September.

Either way, the Rays will have to navigate a crucial upcoming stretch, including series next week against the Angels and White Sox, without two of their most productive offensive and defensive players. Still, Friedman downplayed the need to seek immediate reinforcements beyond outfielder Justin Ruggiano, who was recalled from Durham and will join the team today.

"Obviously it's a tough situation, but this team has shown great perseverance all year and I expect it'll continue," Friedman said Monday on a conference call. "We're going to continue to monitor the waiver wire as we have, but, look, this underscores the emphasis that we've placed on depth. We haven't gotten to this point on the back of any one player. It's been a team effort all year and I expect it to continue."

The Rays have withstood so many injuries to key players already this season that they can't claim they don't have the practice. Manager Joe Maddon repeatedly has cited as a positive the amount of playing time that has fallen to some reserve players due to starters serving stints on the disabled list. But this will be the most severe test of the Rays' depth to date.

The day-to-day particulars will be left to Maddon, but Friedman said he expects the corner outfield spots will be held down by Ruggiano, Eric Hinske, Gabe Gross and Rocco Baldelli in some combination. Willy Aybar and Ben Zobrist figure to get the bulk of the playing time at third.

Why not go find an experienced player from outside the organization who might be able to help? That's a difficult task this time of year, especially when you're a team several others are gunning for, because any player the Rays would want to acquire via trade would have to pass through waivers unclaimed before reaching Tampa Bay.

Waiver claims are prioritized by league and reverse order of the standings. American League teams get the first shot at AL players put on waivers, but only the Angels would be behind the Rays on the list, so any other team could step in and take a player they thought might be of interest to Tampa Bay, if only to keep him from joining the Rays. The Red Sox are believed to have done exactly that last week in claiming outfielder Brian Giles from the Padres, but the veteran wouldn't approve a trade to Boston and remained with San Diego.

For a National League player like Giles, 27 teams would have to pass before the Rays had a crack at him, which is why Friedman on Monday characterized his team's chances of making a significant waiver deal as "extremely unlikely."

The only other outside alternative for the Rays would be to sign a free agent. Asked specifically Monday about Barry Bonds, Friedman said, "I'm not going to address that."

A player such as Kenny Lofton, who would be far more useful defensively, would seem a more likely fit. He apparently rebuffed an offer from Tampa Bay during spring training, but no one could have predicted then where the Rays would be now.

The same could also be said for Longoria's trip to the disabled list. In sitting out the final three games of the series at Seattle, the leading Rookie of the Year candidate said his wrist felt noticeably better each day. But the Rays wanted to be sure they weren't missing something, so they took advantage of Monday's off day by sending him back to Tampa on a red-eye flight Sunday night to get checked out by hand specialist Doug Carlan.

According to Friedman, Longoria had a return ticket to the West Coast booked, but he didn't get to use it. Carlan took new X-rays of Longoria's wrist and determined the fracture he saw was fresh, rather than an old injury. That had been the initial interpretation in Seattle, though Longoria and the Rays had said the initial scan revealed no fractures whatsoever.

Longoria's wrist didn't necessarily feel any worse Monday, but the knowledge that a fracture exists and could get much worse if he tried to play through it led the team to shut him down.

Carlan also examined Crawford but the Rays said nothing definitive about that checkup. Friedman did say the team was in the process of seeking opinions on Crawford's case from other doctors and a decision should come today.

The Rays had been holding out hope that Crawford would be able to rehabilitate the injury with a splint and not have to undergo surgery, but that scenario appears less likely at this point.

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227 or mlancaster@tampatrib.com.

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