Longoria’s rebound not enough for Rays in ’16

ST. PETERSBURG — A 2016 season that the Rays expected to be promising turned sour in the first half, resulting in 12 fewer wins than the previous season.

Between June 16 and July 16, the Rays went 3-24. They finished the season at 68-94, marking their fewest wins since 2007.

Yes, the Rays experienced a serious rash of injuries, but Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman didn’t use that as an excuse for the outcome.

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“Winning teams find ways to overcome injuries,” Silverman said. “We weren’t able to do that this year, especially in June, when our depth was most tested. We also didn’t convert outs and limit damage like we’ve grown accustomed to.”

Aside from injuries, a large part of the Rays’ problems stemmed from their overall defense, which ranked 20th in the Major Leagues in the first half (55 errors in 88 games, .983 percentage). In the second half, they were the 13th-best fielding team in the Majors.

“Coming out of the All-Star break, the guys got on a really good run, collectively as a group, and that’s where we had the success,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Silverman acknowledged that the team showed improvement in the second half.

“Especially on the defensive side of the ball, but it was too little and way too late,” Silverman said.

While the end result was disappointment to Rays fans, there were a number of bright spots. Evan Longoria had a tremendous season, Brad Miller had a …

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