Ruben Tejada will likely have a stint on Disabled List as he endures pain in right quadriceps - MLB
While bunting a single in the last game, shortstop Ruben Tejada was roughed up on his way. Unable to sustain his progress as a base-runner due to initial shocks of a prospective injury, he was to be taken off the park.
Tejada has been prone to injuries in the past and even during Spring Training he missed one week.
As per the MRI result, Tejada will be having a hard time before getting his injury rehabilitated properly. Based on this, his entry on Disabled List cannot be ruled out.
Contrary to MRI reports however, Tejada is extremely confident of returning within few days.
Mets’ manager Terry Collins was unsure as to how many days Tejada will take to make a comeback. In the meantime, he says, he will be putting Justin Turner on his position.
“I don’t know how bad it’s going to be. If they think it’s going to be five, six days, we’d probably have to make some move to get somebody here,” said Collins.
Turner, on the other hand, is doubtful if he can be as effective as Tejada was at shortstop.
“I can catch it and throw it to first,” said Turner. “I don’t know if I’ll be doing anything spectacular.”
Tejada is hitting .305, along with eight RBIs, and a .362 on-base percentage. His absence will affect the Mets hugely, in light of his expertise as a shortstop and his ability to restrict base-runners in stealing bases.
As regard to his talent as a hitter, the Mets however will not have much trouble in finding an appropriate replacement.
Just as Kirk Nieuwenhuis came in place of their injured leadoff hitter, at start of the season and became a consistent performer right away, the Mets do have many such players on their roster.
Meanwhile, Tejada will hope that his injury will not get worse from now onward and instead will make strides toward being eliminated.
The manager desperately needs his services at shortstop and therefore getting him back to the line-up at the earliest is something he will be looking forward to.
The Mets are certainly going to have tough time, if Tejada has his time prolonged due to his strain.
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