AL East Positional Rankings: A Step Back in 2017 for Third Base
By Nate Wardle
3. Tampa Bay Rays – Evan Longoria, Daniel Robertson
Now we moved toward the star-studded portion of the list, and Evan Longoria remains at number three. By Longoria standards, 2017 was a down year. He hit .261/.313/.424 (.270.341/.483 career averages) with 20 home runs, 36 doubles, 86 runs batted in and 71 runs scored for the Rays. If you look at the other teams, these numbers look fantastic, but they aren’t quite at Longoria levels.
He did provide his standard of good defense, with a 2.5 offensive WAR and 1.3 defensive WAR. Longoria was slightly above league average in terms of range and had a fielding percentage of .968 with 12 errors in 375 chances.
Longoria played 142 games at third base for the Rays and is a Gold Glove finalist (one of two in the division). Robertson, reported on previously at second base, ended up as the main utility player for the Rays in 2017.
The 31-year-old Longoria’s contract carries into 2023, so he still has a number of years in Tampa, unlike the next two players.