Longoria: Bring it on

The Rays said Tuesday they'd give top prospect Evan Longoria the chance to show in spring training if he's ready to be the opening day third baseman. And Longoria said Wednesday he welcomes the challenge.
"I'm feeling pretty good coming into the spring so I was just hoping that they would let me play and ... let them make the decision after the spring,'' Longoria said after working out with more than 30 other early reportees to the Naimoli complex.
"That's basically what I came into spring hoping would happen,'' Longoria said. "If they would have made the decision early, obviously if I was in the big leagues that would be good, but I feel like now it just puts a little more added pressure on me, which I like. It's going to make me work harder.''
Longoria, 22, is confident he can make the jump to the majors despite only 1 1/2 years in the minor leagues. The Rays expect him to be in the big leagues sometime this season, but may decide to give him a few more months seasoning. If so, Willy Aybar or Joel Guzman would be the likely starter.
"I couldn't come in thinking I wasn't going to get the job,'' Longoria said. "All I can do is stay positive, have a good spring and put the pressure on them to make a decision.''

Also:
- Rays officials will hold their official pre-spring media conference on Thursday.
- Reliever Juan Salas is the only pitcher or catcher not expected to report in time for Friday's first workout, delayed due to visa problems.
- Ex-Ray Greg Norton got a job, signing a minor-league deal with the Mariners.

Comments

[george]

didn't salas have visa issues last year?

[Hubert]

Longoria is one of the favorites,if not the most favorite to win ROY this year.If he plays well and the Rays still send him down for a couple of months,it's most likely they are being cheap and want to delay his arbitration clock.

[Einhard]

It has nothing to do with being cheap, unless your definition of cheap is to use good business practices. Every team considers the issue of delaying the arbitration/free agent clocks when promoting players, and every team will do so if it makes sense.

If the Rays think that Longoria and the team may benefit by some extra time in Durham and in addition they will have him under control for an extra year WHEN HE IS IN HIS PRIME they would be stupid not to delay his arrival. Which would you prefer? An extra 2-3 months of Longoria's rookie year or an extra year of his age 28, 6 years experience year?

It is a balancing act among various factors, not a simple issue of being cheap or not.

[RFN]

Letting Evan take a crack at 3B is a no-lose proposition for all.

He has had pressure on him since he was drafted, let's see if he thrives on that pressure in spring and seizes the starting job. Or, maybe he's already comfortable enough that he doesn't feel the pressure, plays well and wins the starting job.

If he doesn't have a good spring, he just regroups for awhile at Durham, because he knows as well as we do that his track record so far and his potential mean that he will be in St. Pete at sometime this season.

Go Evan! A ROY type year along with what we expect from CC, BJ and Pena - along with some productivity from Rocco, could carry us a long way this year.

[Mark]

So is it just a given we're moving Iwamura to 2nd? If Longoria doesn't win the job, how could Aki not be the guy that remains there? He's a gold glove caliber 3B. How could we just move him out of his natural position so nonchalantly? I've heard talk of him moving to 2nd, but don't see his name even mentioned in this article about the 3B position. Is this the case?