Evan Longoria Says He Can't Get over Logan Forsythe Trade, Talks Rays Future

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria is focused on helping the team succeed in 2017, but he is still lamenting the loss of second baseman Logan Forsythe. 

Speaking to ESPN's Jayson Stark during the opening day for position players at spring training, Longoria thinks the Rays are in a good place. 

"I actually like where we are," Longoria said. "I don't know that I'll ever get over losing Logan, because we got real close and he became one of the clubhouse leaders. So when you take that away, it feels like there's a much bigger void."

Forsythe was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitching prospect Jose De Leon on January 23. He came into his own over the past two seasons with the Rays, posting a .273/.347/.444 slash line with 37 home runs since 2015. 

Immediately after that deal was announced, Longoria expressed his disappointment to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. 

"I'm surprised and upset at losing a player, clubhouse presence and friend like Logan," he said. "He's a rare player."

In his most recent comments on the subject to Stark, Longoria continued to assert the loss of Forsythe is not something that can be glossed over. 

"You know, I can't say that we got much better, with losing Logan," Longoria said. "But I think that if you take him away and then you insert the pieces that we have, I like it. I think that we've positioned ourselves to be right there again."

The Rays did come out of the deal with a potentially valuable piece. De Leon is a 24-year-old right-hander who has 446 strikeouts in 330.2 minor league innings. He enters this season as MLB.com's No. 33 prospect with the projection of a "reliable mid-rotation starter."

Starting pitching is an area the Rays have always tried to build around. Their best run of success from 2008-13 came with a stable of arms that included David Price, James Shields and Jeremy Hellickson. 

Longoria remains the face of the franchise at 31 years old, but the Rays will go as far as pitchers like De Leon, Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, Blake Snell and Alex Cobb take them. 

Even though Longoria may not have liked the Forsythe trade, De Leon's low cost and potential upside puts the Rays in a better position now and in the future to return to relevance in the American League East after losing 94 games last season.