"One of the problems with Ruben Tejada is it's like pulling teeth," Sandy Alderson told Mike Francesa of WFAN. "It's extra batting practice, extra this, extra that, it doesn't happen, necessarily, unless someone is insisting on it. We need to see a commitment to improvement. He's going to have to earn it."
Alderson also added by saying that the team did consider promoting him on September 1 when the rosters expanded, but because the Las Vegas 51s are playoff-bound, the team said they need Tejada on the team for now.
The 23 year old Tejada hit .209/.267/.262 in 50 games with the Mets this season. With the 51s, he has hit .288/.337/.379 in 60 games.
I remember from a few years ago when Tejada showed up late to Spring Training, and Terry Collins gave him a hard time about it. It was the year after the Mets let Jose Reyes walk in free agency, and Tejada really needed to come to camp early to get in shape. However, after not showing up on time the organization seemed to grow frustrated of him.
It is nice to see Alderson angry over this subject, even though I am a Tejada supporter. Alderson is a smart guy, he knows that at the end of the day it is all about production. Tejada's production, or lack thereof, has not helped the team in any way, and is really making his future cloudy with this team.
Tejada will be in the Majors when the Triple-A playoffs are over, and I do expect that he will get a fairly good amount of playing time at shortstop. However, when your general manager takes a shot at you like this, it cannot make him feel good about his long-term future with this organization.
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