ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — There is still no indication the Mets will see Ruben Tejada anytime soon.
What the Mets eventually thought would be a two-week trip to the disabled list with strained right quadriceps has turned into 37 days and counting as the shortstop prepares to begin a running program in Port St. Lucie.
“Maybe it was worse than we thought in the beginning,” manager Terry Collins said before Tuesday night’s 11-2 win over the Rays.
Tejada is slated for running drills today, but will not be tested on the bases immediately. Ronny Cedeno (calf) also remains on the DL, keeping journeyman Omar Quintanilla entrenched as the starting shortstop.
“We miss [Tejada] a lot,” Collins said. “Omar has come up and done a good job, Ronny did a good job, we have caught the ball, but Ruben is an offensive force, and right now it’s obvious we’re missing that.”
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Jon Rauch said he was amused by the personal attacks directed toward him on Twitter after he surrendered the game-winning homer to the Yankees’ Russell Martin on Sunday.
The veteran reliever re-tweeted some of the venom, including a message that told Rauch to kill himself.
“If you’re going to be bold enough to say that kind of stuff and stand behind it, I’m going to let everybody see it,” Rauch said. “It gives people a lot more insight to what we go through as players and people that are in the public eye.”
Josh Thole was on Twitter last year, but closed his account because of personal attacks.
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Jenrry Mejia will begin pitching from the bullpen at Triple-A Buffalo. He has been placed on a two-week schedule after which he will be evaluated for a possible promotion to the Mets as a reliever.
Mejia, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, had been working as a starter in the minors since last month to build up innings.
The right-hander worked as a reliever for the Mets in 2010 before becoming a starter late in the season.
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REO Speedwagon will perform a concert after Friday night’s Reds-Mets game at Citi Field as part of a Friday Night Postgame Concert Series. Tickets are on sale at Mets.com or by calling (718) 507-TIXX.
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Ramon Ramirez (hamstring) has begun long-tossing. Justin Turner (ankle) is taking batting practice, but still not running the bases.