Former Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada signs with Yankees

Ruben Tejada is back in New York, but not with the Mets.

Former Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada has signed a minor league with the New York Yankees, and will be invited to Spring Training with the team. Tejada played for five years with the Mets (from 2010 through 2015), but had been with the organization since 2006. Overall, I guess you could say he was an okay infield backup. He never really shined the way you’d need a shortstop to, unfortunately.

Nevertheless, Ruben was definitely beloved by some Mets fans, and he would eventually become somewhat of a cult hero after getting his leg broken by a stupid Chase Utley slide in the 2015 playoffs. His introduction before Game 3 of that NLDS versus the Los Angeles Dodgers is still one of the coolest moments I’ve ever watched. It’s kind of crazy to remember that after that Utley play, Ruben would never play for the Mets again.

After the Mets released Tejada a little before Opening Day last season, he went to sign on and play with the St. Louis Cardinals. They also released him and then the San Francisco Giants would take a chance. He was eventually dumped by them as well, unfortunately.

Ruben’s offensive production has never really been there, so while it’s a shame to see him bounce around from team to team, it makes sense why that’s been the case.

The New York Yankees are taking a flyer on a guy that at least has some experience at the major league level. For his career, Tejada is hitting .255/.330/.323, and is unfortunately slow and without power – two pretty serious deficiencies. He does provide a solid glove, so he’ll be looked at as a bench option for 2017 with the occasional start if needed.  Tejada can also play both shortstop and second base, so that gives the Evil Empire a little bit of flexibility.