PORT ST. LUCIE — Ruben Tejada sat alone in the visiting clubhouse at Tradition Field on Friday morning wearing Cardinals red and insisted he had no hard feelings toward the Mets after they released him.
“I understand this is a business,” Tejada said before starting at shortstop in an exhibition game against his former team. “I try to stay focused no matter what happens. Now it happened to me. It happens to everybody. You never know, and now I have another opportunity here with another team.”
Still, Tejada admitted he was caught somewhat off guard when he was cut loose by the organization that signed him.