Just Mets

There’s very little question the Mets need to find a steady, stable and complete 2-3 year shortstop. Whether that happens this summer, over the winter, or at all remains to be seen.

But while they wait for an everyday answer to emerge, the Mets have gotten some surprising output from someone who has found himself on the outside looking in on several occasions over the last several years.

At a time the Mets have been desperately searching for offense, it’s Ruben Tejada, the once outcasted infielder, provided some much needed output both at the plate and in the field for the club.

He’s riding a nine-game hitting streak, during which he’s hitting .333 with an .834 OPS. He’s actually reached base in 14 straight games, during which he’s hit .333/.400/.421.

For the moment, Tejada looks very much like the player the Mets saw and hoped would grow following Jose Reyes’ departure in 2012. He’s hitting fewer balls in the air, battling to deep counts, and finding a way to get on base at a respectable .331 clip this season.

While he’s one of the few providing such offense, he’s offered stabilization defensively well, especially since shifting to shortstop on a full-time basis.

Make no mistake – Tejada certainly is no Gold Glove defender anywhere on the field by any means. The metrics say he’s a league average to slightly below league average defenseman at both second base and shortstop.

But considering the issues the Mets had at the position with Wilmer Flores coupled with Daniel Murphy‘s subpar defense at second base, the Mets were far more deficient then they are today up the middle, as shifting Flores to second better protects his defensive weaknesses and shifting Murphy to third base protects his, making them stronger up the middle by default.

Now, there’s little doubt the Mets must find an upgrade at shortstop. History does suggest Tejada will eventually be overexposed. But in doing so, Tejada could convert back into the utility infield role the club envisioned he would be in this season, which in turn provides a necessary upgrade for the Mets bench, whose pinch hitters have posted an abysmal .174 average and a .515 OPS off the bench.

Still, it’s hard to argue Tejada hasn’t at least held down the position while the Mets continue their search for an upgrade on their infield this summer. It’s certainly a surprise, but a pleasant one at that.

Not bad for a guy who has been on the outs on so many occasions over the last four seasons, finding himself in the minors and fighting his way back to the big leagues.