Rays' Evan Longoria to Begin Rehab Assignment

Tampa Bay Rays' third baseman Evan Longoria is expected to begin his rehab assignment at Triple-A Durham on Saturday, reports Adam Berry of MLB.com.

Out the past six weeks with a partially torn left hamstring, Longoria will workout with the team today and get his first game action as the designated hitter on Saturday.

Prior to hitting the DL, the 26-year-old was batting .329/.433/.561 with four home runs in 97 plate appearances. The tag team of Jeff Keppinger, Sean Rodriguez, Will Rhymes and Drew Sutton have filled in at third in Longoria's absence.

In first place with a 15-8 record at the time of his injury, the Rays have gone 20-20 since Longoria hit the DL on May 1st and now sit in third place.

Though Longoria is making progress, the Tampa Bay still has no timetable for the 2008 Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star's return to the team.