NEW YORK -- Ruben Tejada's agents are considering filing a grievance over the New York Mets' timing of the shortstop's September call-up, which delayed his free-agency eligibility from after the 2016 season until after the 2017 season, Yahoo! Sports has reported.
The Mets called up two players on Sept. 1, reliever Greg Burke on Sept. 8, then had outfielder Mike Baxter, catcher Juan Centeno and right-hander Aaron Harang join the team after Triple-A Las Vegas' season ended in the first round of the Pacific Coast League playoffs. Tejada's promotion came a day later on Sept. 10.
That meant Tejada finished the season with two years, 171 days of service time -- one day shy of qualifying for three full years.
Tejada still will be eligible for arbitration as a Super 2, but his free agency will wait an extra year as a result.
But Tejada appears unlikely to be a Met in 2016 or 2017. In fact, the Mets are trying to upgrade at his position for this upcoming season and do not plan to keep Tejada as a backup if that is the case, according to a team insider. But by keeping Tejada under the team's control for four more seasons instead of three, the Mets make him marginally more marketable in a trade.
Tejada's agent and a Mets spokesman declined to comment to ESPNNewYork.com.