D-backs call up Josh Rojas from Triple-A, Evan Longoria to 10-day IL

The Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday called up infielder Josh Rojas from Triple-A Reno and sent third baseman Evan Longoria to the 10-day injured list with a strained lower back.

Rojas was sent to Reno on June 19 after beginning the big league season on a scorching start before a major slump kept him out of the lineup consistently.

In 57 games before being sent down, Rojas was slashing .235/.301/.607 with no homeruns, 26 RBIs and 49 strikeouts in 183 at-bats.

The third baseman recently recovered from a back injury in Reno that left him out for three weeks and prolonged his stay with the Triple-A club.

“Rojas is starting to get healthy again down in Triple-A, hopefully he comes back up here and adds a spark,” general manager Mike Hazen said on Wednesday.

“I believe he’s going to be one of our better players in the second half of the season.”

Longoria was injured taking groundballs in warmups ahead of Friday’s game, but manager Torey Lovullo said on Saturday he does not expect the veteran to be shelved more than 10 days.

Longoria saw an increase in playing time at third base with Rojas’ struggles and Emmanuel Rivera’s slump from late June into July. Longoria has posted an OPS over .800 with 11 homers and 24 RBIs in 178 plate appearances.

Recently, Rivera has been lights out, batting .333 with two homeruns and three walks in 24 ABs over the last week.

Rojas will add another left-handed bat against Seattle Mariners RHP Bryan Woo to Arizona’s lineup as the only two other infielders that can hit from the left side of the plate are Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte, both of whom are switch hitters.

Arizona looks to end its skid in Game 2 of the series against the Mariners. Catch all the action at 5:40 p.m. on 98.7, the Arizona Sports app and ArizonaSports.com.