Rubén Darío Tejada (born October 27, 1989) is a Panamanian

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

for the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partne ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Early life

Tejada was born in

Santiago de Veraguas Santiago de Veraguas () is the capital of the province of Veraguas, in the Republic of Panama, and the district or municipality of the same name. Located in the countryside next to the Pan American Highway. Bounded on the north by San Francisco D ...

in western

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

to Rubén Sr., a

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and r ...

, and Donaji Tejada, a

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

. Tejada also has a younger brother, Ernie. Tejada grew up mere feet away from Omar Torrijos Herrera Stadium where his father was also a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for Los Indios de Veraguas. Growing up, Tejada's favorite baseball players were shortstops

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

and

Omar Vizquel Omar Enrique Vizquel González (; born April 24, 1967), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indi ...

. In 2001, Tejada played for the Santiago de Veraguas Little League team which represented the Latin American region at the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

. In 2003, at 13 years old, Tejada began playing for Los Indios de Veraguas’ junior team as a pitcher.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Tejada signed with the Mets as an international free agent in 2006. He debuted in professional baseball in 2007. He has played for the

Gulf Coast Mets The Florida Complex League Mets are a Rookie-level affiliate for the New York Mets, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Mets. The team plays its home games a ...

, Venezuela Mets,

St. Lucie Mets The St. Lucie Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and play their home games at Clover Park. The Mets have been members ...

and

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mira ...

. He also played for the Surprise Rafters of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

New York Mets

2010

Tejada was invited to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

with the Mets in 2010. He was the youngest position player on the Mets Opening Day roster since

Tim Foli Timothy John Foli (born December 6, 1950), is an American former professional baseball player, coach and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, San Francisco Giants, Pi ...

in 1971. On April 7, 2010 he made his major league debut and went 0-for-2 with a HBP in 3 plate appearances. On April 9, 2010 he recorded his first major league hit off the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

' Tyler Walker. On June 4, 2010 the Mets re-called Tejada to replace Luis Castillo. With the activation of Luis Castillo from the DL on July 19, 2010, the Mets optioned Tejada to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. He was re-called on August 7, after

Alex Cora Jose Alexander Cora (born October 18, 1975) is a Puerto Rican baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 14 seasons with the Red Sox, Los Angele ...

was released and Jesús Feliciano was demoted to Triple A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. On September 5, 2010 in the seventh inning Tejada hit his first major league home run off Cubs pitcher

Marcos Mateo Marcos Aurelio Mateo Lora (born April 18, 1984) is a Dominican right-handed former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers. ...

on the first pitch. For the season, he batted .213/.305/.282.

2011

On May 17, 2011 Tejada was called up to play second base, thus moving

Justin Turner Justin Matthew Turner (born November 23, 1984) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dod ...

to third base for the injured

David Wright David Allen Wright (born December 20, 1982) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the New York Mets. He was drafted by the Mets in 2001 MLB draft and made ...

. He ended the season with a .284 batting average in 328 at-bats.

2012

Once Jose Reyes signed with the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

, Rubén Tejada became the New York Mets starting shortstop for the 2012 season. On August 1, 2012, Tejada hit his second home run in the majors against

Matt Cain Matthew Thomas Cain (born October 1, 1984), nicknamed "The Horse", "Big Daddy", "Big Sugar" and "Cainer", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the San Francisco Giants ...

of the Giants, his first home run since September 5, 2010. Ruben Tejada mets

2013

Tejada was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right quad and called up shortstop Omar Quintanilla from the Mets triple-A affiliate Las Vegas 51s to take his spot on the roster. After Quintanilla's unexpected performance however, the Mets optioned Tejada to Las Vegas. For the season, he batted .202/.259/.260.

2015

On October 10, 2015, during the second game of the 2015 National League Division Series,

Chase Utley Chase Cameron Utley (born December 17, 1978), nicknamed "The Man" and "Silver Fox", is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 16 seasons, primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. ...

slid into and took out Tejada in an attempt to break up what might have been an inning-ending double play, fracturing Tejada's right

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...

in the collision. Utley was ruled safe by the umpires after a video review despite never actually touching the base. The Dodgers, who were losing 2-1 at the time of the incident, rallied to win the game 5-2. Major League Baseball suspended Utley for two games for his conduct "in violation of Official Baseball Rule 5.09 (a) (13), which is designed to protect fielders from precisely this type of rolling block that occurs away from the base." Utley appealed the suspension and remained active for the rest of the Dodgers post-season games. MLB subsequently dropped Utley's suspension on March 6, 2016, with Chief Baseball Officer

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

stating "There wasn't anything clear-cut to say that play violated a rule."

2016

On March 15, 2016, the

Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

placed Tejada on waivers, and released him the next day after clearing waivers.

St. Louis Cardinals

On March 19, 2016, Tejada signed a one-year contract worth $1.5 million with the

. Expected to fill in for the injured

Jhonny Peralta Jhonny Antonio Peralta (born May 28, 1982) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). The Cleveland Indians signed him as an amateur free agent in his native D ...

at shortstop, Tejada himself injured his quad in the final pre-season game, landing on the disabled list to begin the season. Tejada was activated on April 18, but the opening at shortstop was no longer there, having been filled instead by

Aledmys Díaz Aledmys Díaz Serrano (born August 1, 1990) is a Cuban professional baseball utility player for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Houston A ...

. Tejada made his first major league appearance as a

on May 20 in the ninth inning at

Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) f ...

against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

, pitching one complete

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

while allowing two

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

s, on back-to-back home runs to Chris Herrmann and

Brandon Drury Brandon Shane Drury (born August 21, 1992) is an American professional baseball utility player for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue ...

. The Cardinals designated Tejada for assignment on May 28. He had six hits in 34 at bats. Tejada declined the outright assignment, becoming a free agent.

San Francisco Giants

On June 13, Tejada signed a minor league contract with the

. On June 29, Tejada was called up and started at third base after

Matt Duffy Matthew Michael Duffy (born January 15, 1991), nicknamed "Duffman", is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He played college baseball at Long Beach State. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) f ...

was put on the 15-day disabled list. On July 20, he was designated for assignment by San Francisco. For the season, he batted .156/.270/.250 with the Giants in 32 at bats.

New York Yankees

On December 12, 2016, Tejada signed a minor league contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. On March 27, 2017, Tejada was reassigned to Minor League camp.

Baltimore Orioles

The

acquired Tejada from the

for cash considerations on June 4, 2017. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

. His contract was selected by the Orioles two days later on June 6. Tejada made his Orioles debut the next night against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

replacing an injured Manny Machado. For the season he batted .230/.293/.283 with the Orioles. On November 28, 2017, Tejada signed a minor league contract with the Orioles. He elected free agency on November 3, 2018.

Return to Mets

On March 23, 2019, Tejada signed a minor league contract to return to the Mets and was assigned to Triple-A Syracuse. He hit for the cycle on June 19, 2019 against the

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

. On August 14, the Mets selected Tejada's contract. On August 22, Tejada was designated for assignment. He re-signed on a minor league deal on September 1. He became a free agent following the 2019 season.

Toronto Blue Jays

On January 17, 2020, Tejada signed a minor league deal with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. Tejada was released by the Blue Jays organization on August 31, 2020.

Philadelphia Phillies

On May 5, 2021, Tejada signed a minor league contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Tejada played in 72 games for the Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

, hitting .231 with 0 home runs and 15 RBI's. On August 25, 2021, Tejada was released by the Phillies.

Chicago White Sox

On September 3, 2021, Tejada signed a minor league deal with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

. He appeared in 8 games for Charlotte down the stretch, hitting .250/.300/.357 with 1 home run and 5 RBI. He elected free agency on November 7, 2021.

Long Island Ducks

On February 9, 2023, Tejada signed with the