Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria went on the Hot Clicks podcast with Jimmy Traina and discussed a number of topics with the writer, including his feelings on New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
Longoria talked about Rodriguez's suspension, telling Traina that Rodriguez playing during his appeal is not fair to AL East teams:
"I don't know what his motivation is, but I will say this: I don't think it's fair for the other teams because I'm in the American League East. Whether he is 100 percent or not, whether his mind is where it needs to be or not, he can affect the game in a positive way, he can affect the game in a tremendous way, which is being in the lineup. In a pennant race, he's a guy you don't want in the lineup. Looking at it from that perspective and that perspective only, I don't think it's fair that we can't have an arbitrator hear the case sooner."
Tampa Bay enters Friday with a 66-47 record, two games behind the Boston Red Sox in the division. The Rays will face the Yankees six more time this year.
Longoria also discussed the need for stronger PED penalties, stating:
"I definitely feel the risk needs to outweigh the reward," Longoria said. "The risk of a 50-game suspension does not outweigh the possibility of a guy playing half or three-quarters of a season and putting up career numbers and getting the contract the next year based off their play."
MLB suspended 12 players Monday for 50 games due to their involvement with Biogenesis.
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