The Blue Jays have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran infielder Ruben Tejada, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Tejada, a Primetime Sports Group client, will be in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.
Tejada, 30, was a utility player with the Mets from 2010-15 but began to bounce around the league in the following years, briefly appearing with the Giants, Cardinals and Orioles. After a big league in 2018, he returned to the Majors for a six-game cup of coffee with the Mets in 2019.
A career .250/.324/.317 hitter through nearly 2400 big league plate appearances, Tejada has played shortstop, second base and third base at the MLB level and will give the Jays a versatile bench option if he’s able to crack the Opening Day roster. He enjoyed a big season in Triple-A Syracuse in 2019, slashing .326/.404/.471 through 314 plate appearances with the Mets’ top affiliate.
Good.
Decent
Chase Utley is a true gamer
No mention of him having a decent backup player career until utley destroyed it.
Was it really just Utley or was it that Daniel Murphy took an hour to get the throw over, and exposed him to being nailed?
Definitely Daniel Murphy’s fault. How anybody in their right mind could blame Utley for that play is beyond me.
Lol. Well that’s just wrong.
Murphy’s throw was horrible. Not only was it late, but off target. Utley didn’t go anything hundreds of other players hadn’t done for decades. He went in late and hard to break up the play, right over the bag.
Tejada was always an above average defensive middle infielder but never really hit much, rarely hit doubles, didn’t steal and rarely walked. About as valuable as a third string QB – every team has one but you hope you never need him.
Chase Utley…
You Are The Man!!
With the exception of a ML trade for a CF’er, I expect we see at least 4 more signings like this as we start to build up competition for the BP then we see what ST’ing has in store for us!
Another infielder after getting Shaw and keeping Drury? Sure it’s no risk but it’s not addressing core needs either.
I’d be shocked if he starts with the Jays; but they need some as depth behind Bichette in Buffalo.
The Jays lost Urena off waivers. So addressing depth at SS was still a need.
Drury is a RH bat. That’s the only thing keeping him on the roster. Shaw most likely starts and Drury fills a bench spot along with McGuire, whoever the SS is plus two OFs to make 13.
My first thought was that they had signed Miguel Tejada…
Did he cry when he got the news?
Why would he? He’s not Wilmer Flores if that’s what you were going for.
Heh nailed him.
Very good signing. He’ll lay at the big league level.
In what world is this a very good signing? For New Hampshire maybe? If he makes the big league club it makes the Urena decision look really poor.
THe Urena decision was very poor. This is just a replacement for Urena. I have always liked Tejada.
I have stopped trying to figure out Atkins and Shapiro. Neither one of them will be involved in baseball decisions very much longer. They can’t be. Eventually the board of directors will wake up and see it too.
They may as well have signed Wilmer Flores to suck at SS, hit well and provide mediocre D at 2B. Tejada is not major league material.
You’re forgetting that Urena was out of options. If he’d cleared waivers, they’d probably have outrighted him to Buffalo. Then if he was called up during the season and they wanted to send him down again, they’d have to put him on waivers again and risk losing him. However, if a veteran is signed to a minor league deal in the first place, I *think* they can send him back and forth as needed just like an optionable player.
Who cares about options for the backup SS? They had another guy to drop (Valera) and they chose the younger, more appealing player. Dropping him was not necessary and to do because “he’s out of options” is a stupid reason to make that decision over a backup.
Utley did nothing wrong unless you believe he intentionally injured Tejada.
I do.
It’s a tossup between intentional and grossly negligent.
Utley was awesome.
“After a big league in 2018,….” it’s a sentence fragment, please adjust
Why do people like you come on here and correct grammar? Get a life.
Put a period at the end of your sentence.
jays don’t rule. Fixed it.
When the sports writers start to call a player “…bounces around the league…” that is what we use to call a “journeyman” in baseball jargon.
Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time…
Depth signing. Hopefully he can help the big club. I feel like a trade will be coming soon. I see Drury being dealt…no way we’d ever trade Teoscar or Fisher right? Lol
Not sure why they’d trade Drury either. Cheap, versatile, good glove, could rebound with the bat, doesn’t demand a starting spot and likely has little trade value.
He had a tough 2019 but he’s a decent fit for their roster going into 2020.
Shaw DH/1B against RHP, benched against lefties to let Vlad DH and Drury plays 3B.
Ruben Tejada is a better option than Richard Urena? The Jays could have kept Urena instead of Valera and decided against it. Now pick up a similar player who’s 7 years older and has played 9 games in the big leagues since 2017? Strictly Buffalo material.
He’s just aaa filler, maybe a stopgap or tutor for a younger player, nothing to stress about.
You just made the point for me; two moves that weren’t necessary. Thank you.
Minor league play is what he’ll get. Welcome to Buffalo!
He hit really well last year in the minors for the Mets.
Jays mgmt us hoping for lightning in a bottle.
Veteran Minor league depth