PORT ST. LUCIE — Just mentioning Stephen Drew’s name still gets a reaction from Ruben Tejada.
The shortstop chuckled as he stood in front of his locker at Tradition Field, where he was about to use his day off by working with Mets third base coach Tim Teufel and Triple-A Las Vegas coach Wally Backman.
“I don’t pay attention to it,” Tejada said of the possibility of being replaced by Drew, the free agent who remains available less than three weeks before Opening Day. “I just want to play and try to do my best every day.”
Tejada’s work ethic has long been questioned after a terrible 2013, and an awful start to the spring hasn’t helped matters. Still, the Mets haven’t given up on him yet as he heads into a stretch beginning Wednesday when he is expected to play more regularly.
“What he has to remember two years ago, same for Ike [Davis], is that you’re talking about someone who had a lot of success just two seasons ago,” captain David Wright said. “You’re talking about someone who has been a very good shortstop.”
More recently, he has been an ineffective one.
“When you have the type of year he had last year and the question marks coming into spring training and then you get off to a slow start, it becomes kind of a mental thing,” Wright said. “A lack of confidence.”
Tejada is scheduled to start each of the next two games after Wilmer Flores played short in Tuesday’s 9-8 win over the Cardinals in Jupiter. Flores bobbled the first ball hit to him, but performed well the rest of the way.
Manager Terry Collins said Flores would get more chances at short this spring.
Though Wright, Backman and Teufel said Tejada is aware of the uncertainty regarding his future, they are hopeful he can overcome it.
“He’s under the gun,” said Backman, who has managed Tejada in the minors, including part of last season at Triple-A Las Vegas. “There’s no way he doesn’t know it. Everyone knows what’s going on, with who’s out there. He doesn’t say anything about it.”
Wright felt the same way.
“Those types of things affect people differently,” Wright said. “It’s a mental challenge. I’m sure it’s in the back of his mind.”
But Wright said he isn’t thinking about Drew.
“I think about the guys in this clubhouse and getting the maximum potential out of everybody,” Wright said. “We can’t sit here and think about a free agent who isn’t here.”
Omar Quintanilla, whose locker is next to Tejada’s, called him a “tough kid, mentally.”
“He’s had a hard time this spring, but his mind is in the right place,” Quintanilla said. “We don’t talk about Drew, but I’ve told him he’s the guy to be the starting shortstop. He has to take the job.”
With less than three weeks left to Opening Day, time is of the essence.
“He’s in a very good position where he has an opportunity to have a nice rebound year and be an everyday big league shortstop,” Wright said. “Now it’s up to him to seize that. He has to win the mental battle.”
So far, Tejada is losing that fight.
“That’s the difference between guys that establish themselves and have long, successful careers and those who can’t quite get it figured out,” Wright said. “It tests you.”
When you get away from what’s going on in Tejada’s head, Backman said he believes the issues begin with his footwork.
“He’s too narrow when he’s trying to make plays,” Backman said. “That’s what happened on the error [against the Marlins on Monday]. He got his feet tied up. That’s the kind of thing that didn’t used to happen. We have to get him back to where he used to be.”