Here’s a quick update from Sandy Alderson on the potential grievance Ruben Tejada is considering to file.
Sandy Alderson defended the Mets handling of Ruben Tejada and did not deny that “finances and player control was a part of many factors in his decision” but he asserted “it was the team’s right.”
“It’s not the subject of a grievance yet, so I can’t hide behind the fact this is currently being disputed,” Alderson said. “But I think our position is we have very wide discretion in how we call up players in September.”
“But, from our standpoint, we feel that we have the right to bring up a player or not bring up a player. We have a right to determine when he comes up. So we exercise that discretion across the board with respect to eight or nine players or however many we brought up.”
Original Post 11/17
Infielder Ruben Tejada could file a grievance against the Mets over a disagreement about his service time, reports Jeff Passan.
The issue stems from a late promotion from Triple-A Las Vegas in September. Las Vegas was eliminated from the Pacific Coast League playoffs on September 7. The Mets waited to promote Tejada until September 10, and that left him with two years and 171 days of playing time. The Mets had promoted several players the previous day.
Another day of service time would have given Tejada three full years, thus potentially making him eligible for free agency after the 2016 season. As it stands, the earliest he can be eligible for free agency is after the 2017 season. He will, however, be arbitration-eligible this offseason as a Super Two player.
Mets are aware of the potential grievance and declined comment. When reached by phone, Chris Leible, one of Tejada’s representatives at the Legacy Agency, declined comment.
