Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria is battling the injury bug again. This time, it is a leg issue that caused him to be taken out in the third inning of the team's 3-2 extra-inning win on April 30 against the Seattle Mariners. 

UPDATE: Sunday, July 8 at 12:22 p.m. ET by Brandon Galvin

Evan Longoria isn't expected to return to the Rays until August, according to Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin. 

"He won't resume baseball activities until after the Monday-Thursday All-Star break — and a trip to Los Angeles to attend the ESPY Awards — and after seven to 10 days of drills could start another rehab assignment, undoubtedly at a slower pace, potentially rejoining the Rays mid August."

The Rays aren't out of the division or wild card race in the American League, but they desperately need Longo back if they want to make a run at the World Series this fall.

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UPDATE: Tuesday, June 30, 3:40 p.m. ET by Ben Chodos

All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria will start rehabbing his left hamstring again.

According to Bill Chastain, Adam Berry and Greg Zeck of MLB.com, Longoria will be "restarting his rehab process, which will include batting, fielding and running drills before playing in another rehab game."

The report notes that there is no timetable for his return. This is because he must go through the whole process again and has already experienced setbacks.

Longoria remains optimistic, and the article quotes him saying: "[I need to] go through all of the steps I went through before I went out to rehab the first time. From the way it feels now, those are going to go a lot quicker."

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UPDATE: Tuesday, June 19, 11:30 a.m. ET by Adam Wells

The hits just keep on coming for Longoria. The Rays All-Star third baseman was on rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham on Monday night, but he was taken out of the game when he felt discomfort in his left hamstring. 

 

According to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Longoria's rehab assignment has been suspended indefinitely, and no timetable has been set for his return:

The Rays said Longoria, in the second game of his rehab with Triple-A Durham, didn't want to push it after feeling soreness as he ran to first base in Rochester, so he was lifted in the third inning for a pinch-hitter. 

Credit Longoria for not wanting to risk further damage just to get back on the field. He is too important to the Rays' success this year and in the future. Hopefully, this just turns into a temporary setback. 

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UPDATE: Wednesday, June 13, 11:45 a.m. ET by Donald Wood

Almost six weeks after suffering a hamstring injury, Tampa Bay Rays star third baseman Evan Longoria is on the road to recovery and may be starting his rehab stint sooner than expected.

The Rays' official site is reporting about just how soon Longoria could see action:

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria took more batting and fielding practice Tuesday and also did some running drills…Manager Joe Maddon was optimistic about what he saw from Longoria, saying there were no setbacks. He is scheduled to also run before Thursday's game against the Mets. If all goes well, Longoria could begin a rehab assignment Friday.

 

While these are small steps toward recovery and returning to the lineup, Tampa Bay needs its star back at the hot corner as soon as possible. The team has maintained without Longoria, but it needs him healthy and playing well if it wants to make a run at a playoff spot.

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According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Longoria has a hamstring issue, and the best estimate for his return is about two months:

Last year, Longoria missed 29 games with an oblique injury. He is by far the best position player the Rays have, giving them power in the middle of the lineup and outstanding defense at third base. For a lot of teams, losing a player of Longoria's ilk for so long would be devastating.

Certainly, the Rays are going to have to do some patchwork with the offense to make up for the lack of pop in their lineup, but the strength of this team is clearly on the mound. 

Getting B.J. Upton back is going to make things a little easier to manage. As long as they can get a league-average showing from their offense without Longoria, the Rays will be able to weather the storm until he does come back.

We will have all the latest news and information on Longoria's injury as it becomes available.