St Louis Cardinals Sign Ruben Tejada to a One-Year Deal
Ruben Tejada signed to a one-year deal.
The St. Louis Cardinals addressed one of their biggest concerns Saturday by signing former New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada to a one-year deal. This is a quick turnaround for Tejada, who was released by the Mets Wednesday. Tejada’s contract is worth $1.5 million and does not include performance incentives.
Ruben Tejada’s signing is likely a stopgap measure after starting shortstop Jhonny Peralta injured his thumb at the beginning of spring training. Tejada is likely to become the starting shortstop in his stead, although GM John Mozeliak said that players like Jedd Gyorko and Aledmys Diaz would be in play for the starting job. Tejada also has a bit of defensive flexibility, being able to play second and third base as well as shortstop.
Ruben Tejada has more starts as a Major League shortstop than Diaz and Gyorko combined, and performed admirably at the big league level; Tejada owns a career .255/.330./.323 slash line, and the Cardinals could use someone that gets on base as often as Tejada to replace Peralta. In 2015, Peralta had a .344 OBP.
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If Ruben Tejada gets the starting job, that could that Aledmys Diaz could get a little bit more time in the minors. Despite his standout spring, Diaz has only played 14 games above the Double-A level in the last two years. That could also mean bad news for Greg Garcia, who had already dropped from consideration for the starting spot. As Tejada took up the final spot on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster, it doesn’t look good for Garcia’s hopes of landing a spot on the 25-man; Garcia could still be of use as a utility infielder.
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Tejada played in eight spring training games before his release by the Mets; he showed good form after spending the winter recovering from the broken leg he received from a Chase Utley slide in the NLDS.