Evan Longoria Is Tampa Bay Rays' Key To Success In 2016

Heading into the 2016 season, the Tampa Bay Rays have plenty of pitching. Some may go as far to say that they have the best starting rotation in the American League behind the likes of Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi and Drew Smyly. However, the Rays are light on offense after scoring the second-fewest runs in the American League last season. If Tampa Bay can muster up a little more offense in 2016, they’ll have a chance to compete in the AL East, making third baseman Evan Longoria the key to their season.

Starting with his rookie year in 2008, Longoria put together a string of six outstanding seasons, helping the Rays reach the postseason four times during that span. However, Longoria’s numbers have dropped off considerably over the last two seasons, as his OPS dropped from .842 in 2013 to .724 in 2014 and just .764 in 2015, the two lowest totals of his career. That drop in production from Longoria has coincided with Tampa Bay finishing fourth in the AL East in each of the past two seasons, indicating how much the Rays’ success is tied to Longoria’s performance.

Outside of Longoria, the Rays have few proven offensive threats. The recent addition of Corey Dickerson was huge for Tampa Bay, but his production could drop significantly now that he’s no longer playing his home games at Coors Field, as his home-road splits have been substantial during his career. The Rays are hopeful that second baseman Logan Forsythe can repeat his production from 2015, but his stats last season were so far above his career numbers that there’s no guarantee. Tampa Bay can also hope for young outfielders Kevin Kiermaier and Steven Souza Jr., as well as new shortstop Brad Miller, to have breakout seasons, but again there’s no guarantee.

This leaves Longoria as the most reliable hitter in Tampa Bay’s lineup, putting pressure on him to have a big season. Obviously, the Rays need at least a couple of the aforementioned players to have big seasons, but they also need Longoria to return to the form he had earlier in his career. Recent history tells us that the Rays can’t succeed without a big year out of Longoria, making him the key to their season in 2016.