Whether Ruben Tejada will be the Mets’ starting shortstop when he returns from his quadriceps injury will depend on quite a bit.
Tejada was placed on the 15-day disabled list yesterday with a strained right quadriceps, and the Mets recalled Omar Quintanilla from Triple-A Las Vegas. The struggling Tejada had been on notice that he could be demoted to Triple-A if he didn’t perform better, and whether he will be the starter when he gets healthy could be determined by how long he will be sidelined and how well Quintanilla performs in his absence.
Last season, Tejada missed six weeks when he also had a strained right quad. Collins said before the Mets’ 3-1 victory over the Yankees at the Stadium that he mainly will use Quintanilla as his everyday shortstop while Tejada’s out, and in last night’s Subway Series finale, Quintanilla played short and batted ninth.
“When [Tejada] comes back, only the situation will dictate what his status is gonna be here,” Collins said, declining to assure that Tejada is keeping his job. “If it’s six weeks this time, a lot of things can happen in six weeks.”
Quintanilla didn’t have a strong game, committing an error when he allowed David Adams’ tailor-made double-play grounder to shoot through his legs. At the plate, Quintanilla went 0-for-2 with a walk.
Quintanilla, 31, spent 29 games with the Mets last season, hitting .257 with a solid .350 on-base percentage and a .721 OPS. It was believed that he would make the Mets roster out of spring training this season, but the club declined to keep a backup shortstop and instead kept Kirk Nieuwenhuis as a sixth outfielder.
“A little bit [startled by that],” Quintanilla said. “It was kind of weird, but I guess they’ve got their reasons.”
At Triple-A Las Vegas, Quintanilla was tearing up the league, hitting .333 with a .419 on-base percentage and a .903 OPS. He took the red-eye to New York on Wednesday night, arriving at 9 a.m. yesterday.
The 23-year-old Tejada, who is headed to Port St. Lucie, was hitting just .209 with a .267 on-base percentage and a .529 OPS. Justin Turner, who replaced Tejada defensively when he got hurt in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s game, can also play short for Collins.
