St. Louis Cardinals Reportedly Interested in New York Mets SS Ruben Tejada
The St. Louis Cardinals reportedly have interest in shortstop Ruben Tejada, who was waived Tuesday by the New York Mets.
Over the past couple weeks, the top question surrounding the St. Louis Cardinals has been who they’ll use as their starting shortstop, in the wake of a thumb injury to Jhonny Peralta that is expected to keep him out for at least 2-3 months. While certain factions of Cardinal Nation are intrigued by in-house options like converted second baseman Jedd Gyorko and prospect Aledmys Diaz, a more proven option from the outside may soon be available, with the news that the New York Mets put shortstop Ruben Tejada on waivers Tuesday morning.
13 teams will have the opportunity to claim Tejada before the Cardinals, as the Redbirds finished with the best record in baseball during 2015. Teams in the waived player’s league have the first opportunity to claim a player, though, so the Cardinals will get their crack before any American League team.
Tejada, who is scheduled to make $3 million this season, could be attractive to the Cardinals since he’s a natural shortstop and has proven that he can handle the position in the majors for a prolonged period, unlike Gyorko or Diaz.
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He’s not a Gold Glover by any means, but he has played 431 major-league games at the position, which seems like a lifetime when you consider that Gyorko has played just 29 games there during his entire professional career. Tejada also had one of his better offensive seasons as a major-leaguer in 2015, hitting .261/.338/.350 with three homers and 28 RBI.
Of course, the Cardinals must also consider any holdups in Tejada’s rehabilitation from a fractured fibula that was caused by Chase Utley in Game 2 of the NLDS. The 26-year-old has played in eight games for the Mets this spring, hitting .278 with a double, triple, and homer in 18 at-bats, so the injury doesn’t appear to be holding him back too much so far.
Tejada would be an ideal fit as a Peralta replacement, since he’s spent much of his major-league career as a bench or platoon player. He’s versatile and would complement Gyorko as a utility infielder, considering that he’s played 431 games at short, 118 games at second, and 19 at third base during his six seasons with the Mets.
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If the Cardinals prefer to avoid paying a $3 million-dollar salary for a fill-in, they could also wait and hope that he clears waivers, which would then give them the opportunity to negotiate with him and sign him to a more team-friendly deal.