Over the weekend, the Cardinals inked shortstop Ruben Tejada to a major league contract worth $1.5 million for one year. The Mets released him on Wednesday. He reportedly had an offer from the Yankees, but it was for only a minor league contract.
The Cardinals need a shortstop after, earlier this month, learning that Jhonny Peralta would miss two to three months with a torn thumb ligament. The club does have an in-house option in Aledmys Diaz, but he hasn’t done much this spring outside of a four-hit game on March 8. Jedd Gyorko, another candidate, is hitting a meager .182 in spring training.
Tejada, 26, has a career .653 OPS but has shown some defensive proficiency though the metrics weren’t kind to him last season.
