Longoria hurt, on DL

[Kingdom]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays placed rookie All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria on the 15-day disabled list Monday because of a right wrist fracture, the second major blow to the team's surprising first-place run in as many days.

Two-time All-Star and four-time AL stolen base champion Carl Crawford went on the DL with a right hand injury on Sunday, meaning the Rays face the challenge of staying on top of the division for at least two weeks without two of their best offensive and defensive players.

"Obviously it's a tough situation, but this team has shown great perseverance all year and I expect it will continue," vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said during a conference call.

"We'll continue to monitor the waiver wire, but 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 that to continue."

The move was retroactive to Friday, the day after Longoria was hit by a pitch from Seattle closer J.J. Putz. The 22-year-old missed the past three games and took a red-eye flight home to St. Petersburg early Monday to be examined by a team doctor.

Bummer.

[Kingdom]

ESPN - Broken wrist lands Rays HR leader Longoria on DL - MLB

[love_that_reefer]

Crawford and now Longoria!! Ouch!! Hopefully Longoria can return and contribute offensively or else this team is in trouble. They still have the pitching whihc will keep them afloat but someone needs to step it up now on this team. I'm looking at you Upton!! Where did all of Upton's power go?? Upton has got to turn it up and Hinske better play well at third.

[love_that_reefer]

Rays recalled outfielder Justin Ruggiano from Triple-A Durham.
Ruggiano earned the call-up by hitting .315/.374/.537 with 11 homers and 51 RBI in 66 games at Triple-A, but figures to see little more than occasional action in the Rays' outfield unless Rocco Baldelli goes down with another injury.

This makes sense since Hinske is likely to go to third and Ruggiano should hopefully split time with Baldelli. Baldelli is probably the most fragile human being in the Majors and should be treated as such.

[Doppelgänger]

This absolutely sucks. Seems like everything is piling on to keep the Rays down. If there is a team that can overcome though, I think it is the rays. They seem to be a very passionate at tight knit group.