"After seeing the MRI results Sunday, the Tampa Bay Rays had no choice but to put 3B Evan Longoria on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique.

Veteran INF Felipe Lopez was selected from Triple-A Durham, arrived for the game and pinch-hit in the ninth inning, grounding out. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Rays designated RHP Mike Ekstrom for assignment.

Longoria left Saturday night's game after the fifth inning with soreness he first experienced in the batting cage earlier in the day. Having never had an oblique injury, he didn't think it was serious.

"It felt a lot better than what (the MRI) showed," Longoria said. "So I guess we'll treat it like a two- or three-week deal, and we get to that point, we'll adjust to move forward or push back, depending on how it goes."

The obliques are rotating muscles that connect the pelvis to the rib cage. More players are being diagnosed with strains, Rays trainer Ron Porterfield explained, because today's imaging technology is better at revealing them.

"Before, a player would put a rib thing on and suck it up," Porterfield said. "Now we know they can be nasty and last weeks."

Longoria will undergo another MRI today and an evaluation by team orthopedic Koco Eaton. Although a classic strained oblique can keep a player out for four to six weeks, Porterfield said it's too early to give a timetable for Longoria's return.

For at least the short term, Longoria will be held out of all baseball activity. Every-day activities such as driving and opening doors will be monitored. The training room will become a second home.

"We'll treat it with heat, cold, laser, lymphatic treatments - everything to create an optimal environment for it to release toxins and get new blood, minerals, vitamins, oxygen and everything (to the injury)," Porterfield said."