Evan Longoria returns after re-injuring back getting off toilet: ‘Makes me sound really old’

PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Evan Longoria returned to the lineup on Monday from a back injury that held him out longer than he felt it should have.

The 37-year-old said part of the reason why he missed three weeks was that he re-aggravated the injury while getting up off the toilet during Arizona’s road series in San Francisco.

“… which makes me feel and sound really old,” Longoria said.

He explained this happened a few days after he first strained his lower back fielding grounders at Chase Field and went on the 10-day injured list on July 29. At the time, manager Torey Lovullo expected Longoria back soon after the 10 days were up, but Longoria’s setback changed those plans.

Longoria said he was able to swing the bat normally pretty soon after going down, but he felt pain bending over and standing up. Having a back issue was new to the veteran, so he said there was a physical and mental hurdle to get over before he could return to the Diamondbacks.

“It literally went from zero to super painful like that quick, so that’s why it was messing with me mentally because I literally don’t feel any pain one day and then that happened, and I haven’t felt it in between, which is weird,” Longoria said. “It was very acute when it happened, and then a couple days after, it was like nearly gone. Just a lot of hesitation in the interim, like going through that stuff, just making sure that I didn’t re-aggravate it.”

Longoria was going through core and back stabilization exercises in San Francisco without issue before he felt the pain getting up. He went back to Arizona instead of continuing with the team during its road trip to Minnesota and worked at Salt River Fields.

Evan Longoria on his return from the IL: pic.twitter.com/jq9XhVCY5n

— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) August 21, 2023

The D-backs sent him on a rehab assignment last week to Triple-A Reno, where he said he finally turned a mental corner playing in games. He played three games, getting 12 plate appearances.

“I played third base the second day and ran the bases, I made a play in the field, felt confident moving around,” Longoria said. “Everything felt good. So it’s just kind of going through everything that it requires to get over that mental hurdle. Just playing in the game is really what’s the toughest.”

Lovullo called it one of those nagging injuries that you don’t know is gone until tested out.

He slated Longoria sixth in Arizona’s lineup at designated hitter on Monday against the visiting Texas Rangers.

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