PORT ST. LUCIE — Ruben Tejada was the first to arrive at the visiting clubhouse at Tradition Field on Friday morning. He is now wearing Cardinals red, bu💮t insisted he had no hard feelings toward the Mets after they rel🌟eased him.
“I understand this is a business,” Tejada said before starting at shortstop against his former team in a 5-5 tie. “I try to stay focused no matter what happens. Now i✅t happened to me. It happens to everybody. You never know and now I have another opportunity here with another team.”
Still, he said he was caught somewhat off guard when he was cut loose by the organization that signed him.
“It surprised🐠 me a little bit, but💖 I can’t control that,’’ Tejada said. “It’s their decision.’’
The Mets opted to release Tejada primarily as a cost-saving measure, since he would have been due $3 million and was deemed expen❀dable after the signing of Asdrubal Cabrera and trade for Neil Walker. Wilmer Flores remained as a backup middle infield option.
“You have to turn th🧸e page,” said the 26-year-old, who signed with the Mets as an amateur free agent a decade ago. “The next day was a new day, a new opportunity with a new team. Get back to work.”
That included a start against the Metꦅs. He received a warm ovation from a crowd split evenly with Mets and Cardinals fans and went 2-for-3, making a fielding error.
And he was abl꧒e to speak to some꧋ of his old teammates.
“I’m glad hᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚe caught on so fast in a good organization ꦰand got a job,” manager Terry Collins said. “He came here and left his heart on the field.”
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Among the reasons Tejada decided to sign with the Cardinals — and not consider the Yankees’ minor league offer — was the thumb injury to shortstop Jhonny Peralta that required surgไery and will keep him out until midseason.
His final pla♉y as a Met came when Chase Utley’s knockout slide fractured Tejada’s while he was attempting to 🐻turn a double play during Game 2 of the NLDS against the Dodgers.
Now he’s hoping to return to the postseason with a Cardinals team that was interested in him as soon as Peralt💛a got hurt.
“There was some depth with the Mets at the position,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “He became available and ꧅is a good fit already.”
But Tejada hasn’t completel🅘y left behind his life with the Mets. His early arrival was due in part to the fact he remained at his hotel💜 in Port St. Lucie rather than moving closer to the Cardinals’ spring training facility in Jupiter, Fla.
“I have a lot of stuff here,” Tej🔯ada said. “I’m only over there for two weeks.”