Guardians notes: Rays honor former star Evan Longoria, who Guardians manager Stephen Vogt calls one of his best teammates

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Former Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria threw out the first pitch before Saturday's game against Cleveland at Tropicana Field and received a loud ovation from the fans, the players and Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. Longoria played for the Rays from 2008-17 — making three All-Star appearances, earning three Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger Award and helping Tampa Bay advance to the 2008 World Series — while Vogt was a member of the Tampa Bay organization from 2007-12. "I got to play with him a little bit in 2012 (on the MLB club) — he obviously came up (from the minor leagues) way ahead of me but I got to know him and then we played together in 2019 with the Giants as well. "Longo is one of the best teammates I've ever had, he's a pro's pro. The guy is the epitome of what a professional baseball player looks like … the consistency of his work, the way he played the game, the way he attacked and just the professionalism he exuded." Longoria, who hasn't officially retired and is considered an unsigned free agent, was part of last season's Arizona Diamondbacks team that advanced to the World Series. He was lauded for the effect his veteran presence had in the clubhouse. "That's absolutely vital and it's something that's going away in our game," Vogt said. "To have a true pro who goes about his business the right way and elevates his teammates … those are hard to find. We have Hedgie (Austin Hedges) and Josie (Jose Ramirez) and Cookie (Carlos Carrasco), so we're fortunate to have three of those guys, but Evan Longoria is everything that's good about our game and what a wonderful career he's had." Getting some rest With the MLB All-Star break just days away, Vogt was asked about how he can get his five All-Stars the rest the other players on the roster will receive during the break. The five Guardians named to the American League's All-Star roster are third baseman Ramirez, left fielder Steven Kwan, closer Emmanuel Clase, first baseman Josh Naylor and designated hitter David Fye. "We talk with them and we've got all of them some DH days," Vogt said. "Josh got the day off the other day … so we're looking at ways to get people off their feet. We still have a job to do and that's win these games, but we're also considering their health. So we're always talking about those things." Vogt was asked what tells he looks for that lets him know a player might be feeling fatigued. "Sometimes it's bat speed," he said. "You can tell from the side. I watch these guys swing every single day so I feel like I know our guys really well and there's just times where you can tell the guys are having rough at-bats or it feels like they're a little slow. So you just talk with them and see how they're feeling." The 'new' guy With right-hander Gavin Williams making just his third start of the season Saturday after returning from the 60-day injured list, Vogt said he's still feeling out what his newest rotation addition is capable of doing. "I don't know Gavin very well but I've got to see him pitch twice now and the stuff we saw in Detroit was electric," Vogt said. "I feel like he's the type of guy that's going to build on every start and just continue to attack the zone. He had all four pitches last time out so it's everything to get him back. It's been a nice jolt for us and Gavin is going to be a huge part of our team." Offensive thoughts Cleveland was shut out for the second time in five games Friday night in the series opener against Tampa Bay, and the Guardians scored just five runs in their last three games coming into Saturday — all losses. "This is like our second stretch like this, right?" Vogt said. "That's pretty good. We've played three and a half months of baseball and we've had just two stretches where the offense has kind of not been doing much as a collective group. You always have a few guys that are going through it but now it's kind of everybody not doing their best. "We've also run into some unbelievable arms over the last couple of weeks, so we're not worried. There are 162 games and we have to play them all." Roundin' third Kwan had hit safely in all 13 career games against Tampa Bay going into Saturday, which included a leadoff single in the first inning of Friday's series opener. He batted .367 during that stretch. After Friday's loss, Cleveland was 12-8 against the AL East, the second-best record against the division behind Baltimore's 19-8 mark. The Guardians are seeking their first winning record against the division since 2019, when they went 18-16. Cleveland came into Saturday's game with a 4-12 record at Tropicana Field since 2018 and 11-22 overall against the Rays during that span. The Guardians are 104-80 all-time against Tampa Bay. Contact Shaun Bennett at (440) 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @ShaunBennettct on X.