An MMO Fan Shot by Patrick (TheMetropolitans)
This past offseason, it was hard to find a single sports media outlet covering the Mets that didn’t mention the huge dilemma that was facing the team at shortstop. There was endless debate as to who to trade for, whether Wilmer Flores could handle the role, and how it would hamstring the team if he struggled.
As we all know, the Wilmer Flores experiment was a pretty sizeable flop. He struggled defensively, but even more troubling was his offensive shortcomings; the aspect of his game which was supposed to justify his placement at SS.
While the Flores experiment was ongoing, Ruben Tejada impressed defensively filling in admirably at 3B and 2B during the Wright and Murphy injuries.
After the Flores experiment came to a close, the Mets were left with little option than to slide Tejada (notorious fan least-favorite) from third base back to his more natural position at SS.
This upset a majority of fans who felt that Tejada didn’t deserve starting time and that the Mets should’ve instantly dropped everything and acquired some other option, the most common suggestion being Jean Segura.
Tejada has responded much better than most of us could’ve even hoped so far. Defensively, he has been stellar and offensively, he has posted his best season since 2012.
Among all MLB shortstops with 275+ PA’s (27 total), Tejada is currently:
11th in BA (.263)
5th in OBP (.328)
15th in SLG% (.355)
9th in OPS (.683)
This places Tejada very comfortably in the top half of all shortstops offensively. He is still a far, far cry from Tulowitzki, Peralta, or Crawford but Tejada hasn’t been the offensive black hole that he was painted to be by a large portion of the fanbase.
Even in his down years, Tejada has been known for his solid plus glove. He’s not exactly Andrelton Simmons out there but he is good across the board with solid range, soft hands, and a very good arm.
It’s easy to get frustrated with Tejada because it seems like he should be better by now considering how long he has been in the majors.
However, we must remember that he is still a very young player. Tejada, 25, is currently younger than Travis d’Arnaud, Juan Lagares, Matt Harvey, and Jacob deGrom. He’s right in the midst of the youth movement of this team and we must treat him with the same patience that we would give any player his age.
There is also reason to believe his production is sustainable beyond 2015. His numbers are actually right in line with everything he has done in his career, with the exception of his horrid 2013.
Of course we cannot just cherry pick stats, but there is such a stark contrast between the 2013 version of Tejada and the rest of his career that there is enough evidence to believe 2013 was a fluke. (Potentially due to a lack of preparation and conditioning on his part)
Tejada before 2013: .271/.336/.331 (87 OPS+)
Tejada in 2013: .202/.259/.260 (49 OPS+)
Tejada after 2013: .248/.336/.329 (89 OPS+)
If we take a minute to look past his 2013, it becomes apparent that Tejada is a guy who can provide solid defense in the field while holding his own with the bat.
This may not sound sexy enough to some fans out there, but we have to remember how weak of an offensive position shortstop is across all of MLB to really put Tejada’s value in perspective.
Certainly in the offseason, Sandy should look to improve on Tejada. He’s definitely a guy who should be batting in the bottom of the order and ideally, you would want something better than that. That being said, I think Tejada deserves his fair share of praise for solidifying what was looking like a huge dilemma for the Mets this year.
“I really believe all that time he was sitting on that bench didn’t set with him very good,” manager Terry Collins said in Miami. “When he got his chance, he made the most of it, which you’d always hope they do.”
In the last 28 days and since being assured of a regular role and playing time, Tejada is batting .321 with a .769 OPS in 88 plate appearances.
His success allowed the Mets to improve elsewhere, which we have all seen the effects of during these past few games.
Good work Tejada. And to all the fans who thought that Tejada was without value and should simply be DFA’d: enjoy a nice helping of crow.
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This Fan Shot was contributed by TheMetropolitans. Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over 30,000 Met fans who read this site daily.
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