TAMPA — Most players would love to be known for a famous play that happened in the postseason.
Not Ruben Tejada.
Tejada’s career was derailed when he suffered a broken leg playing for the Mets in Game 2 of the National League Division Series in 2015 against the Dodgers. A late slide by Chase Utley on a potential double play — a style of slide that since has been banned — caused the injury and effectively ended Tejada’s tenure with the Mets.
Now he’s trying to resurrect his career on the other side of town after signing a minor league contract with the Yankees in December.
Tejada doesn’t have much to say about the play that knocked him out of the playoffs.
“That’s history right now,” Tejada said Tuesday, his first day at Steinbrenner Field. “I can’t do anything with that. The only thing to do right now is focus on today.”
Tejada, 27, was let go by the Mets last spring and caught on with the Cardinals after Jhonny Peralta got hurt. Tejada was bothered by a hamstring injury and didn’t last long with St. Louis.
He finished the season with the Giants, but was woeful at the plate — with a .489 OPS in 78 plate appearances.
The Yankees have a full infield and Ronald Torreyes played well last season in a utility role, so Tejada’s future in The Bronx is anything but certain.
But he insisted he was “100 percent” healthy and intends to win a spot on the major league roster.
“My goal is to stay in the big leagues,” Tejada said, suggesting his experience with the Mets could help. “It’s a big city and a different place to play. It’s the same baseball.”
And he’ll keep an eye on his former employer in Queens.
“They have a good team,” Tejada said of the Mets. “I wish good luck to everybody there.”
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
