Mets Injury Updates: Ruben Tejada Plays, Jason Bay Rests

There were some encouraging injury updates coming from the Mets organization, but it wasn’t all good news. Ruben Tejada played in his first rehab game at Single-A St. Lucie and hasn’t reported any problems with his injured right quad, and the same goes for Ramon Ramirez with his injured hamstring. However, Jason Bay will be making his second trip to the doctor today, as they try to find out the severity of his second concussion in three seasons.

In his first rehab game in about 2 weeks, Tejada went 1-for-5 for the St. Lucie Mets. More importantly, he played the whole game at shortstop, and didn’t report an issues with his nagging injury. So, he should continue to progress through his latest rehab assignment in an effort to return to the Mets lineup. Ronny Cedenois expected to the return to the team on Friday in time to face the Yankees, and it is expected that Tejada will head to Triple-A Buffalo once that happens, which is presumably Thursday. Terry Collins is being extra

cautious with his young shortstop because he wants to make sure that his legs are truly healthy before he gets activated off the disabled list. Until Cedeno rejoins the team, Omar Quintanilla will continue being the team’s starting shortstop.

Ramon Ramirez also started his road to recovery last night at Class-A St. Lucie. In his first appearance since pulling his hamstring running in from the bullpen to celebrate Johan Santana‘s no-hitter, he threw one inning and gave ups three runs on five hits. While that doesn’t sound all that encouraging, he needs to get his legs underneath him again, and the Mets are hoping more productive outings are on their way before he rejoins the staff. Don’t forget, Miguel Batista didn’t pitch well in his rehab starts, but has put together solid appearances since his return. New York is hoping that will be the case for Ramirez if his minor league appearances continue to be underwhelming.

Meanwhile, Jason Bay visited a doctor yesterday in New York, but must return for a follow-up appointment as he continued to rest while the symptoms of his concussion subside. Sandy Alderson made a statement to the media about Bay’s status, saying that they need to let his symptoms go away more before they can make a determination about the severity of the injury and an estimated return date. Alderson once again focused on Bay’s long-term health, stating that there will be no rush to bring the left fielder back to the Mets lineup, who also missed more than two months in 2010 with a concussion.

The return of Ruben Tejada has been long overdue for Terry Collins. As we’ve said before, his defense at short this year has been solid, but it’s been what he’s done at the plate that has been missed more. He already has 10 doubles in 117 at-bats this year, as compared to 15 in 376 at-bats in 2011. Also, now that Bay is out for the immediate future, Tejada provides a much needed bat from the right side, joining David Wright and Andres Torres (switch-hitter) as the only starters that aren’t left-handed hitters.