Blue Jays sign Tejada

January 17, 2020

By Andrew Hendriks

Canadian Baseball Network

TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays and free-agent infielder Ruben Tejada have agreed to terms on a one-year minor league pact that comes with an invite to big league camp this spring.

Jon Heyman, of the MLB Network, was the first to report the deal.

Tejada, 30, has appeared in parts of nine MLB campaigns dating back to 2010, slashing .250/.324/.317 across 2,396 plate appearances. A utility infielder by trade, the right-handed hitting product of Santiago, Panama has spent the majority of his pro career as a member of the Mets organization, producing an overall WAR (Baseball Reference) of 3.6 throughout big league 663 assignments.

Designated for assignment on August 22, Tejada slashed an impressive .326/.404/.471 throughout 73 games with triple-A Syracuse in 2019, pacing the S-Mets in batting average among players with at least 65 games played on the season.

Toronto will likely give Tejada an extended look this spring as they search for a bench option capable of manning multiple infield positions.

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