The Mets shortstop may look to file a grievance against the Mets
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports that beleaguered Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada may look to file a grievance against the Mets for a service-time infraction. The issue at hand is whether or not the Mets intentionally called Tejada up a day late—on September 10 instead of September 9—which would mean he did not meet the 172-day criteria that would be considered a full MLB season.
This issue becomes important for a reason. With only 171 days of service time, Tejada would be one day short of the necessary 6-years of service time required to grant him free agency in 2016. Instead, the Mets would retain control until 2017, meaning Tejada would likely make less money than he would on the open market, and he would serve under Super-Two status.
Tejada's grievance would be reviewed by league arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, who is currently assigned to the Alex Rodriguez case. Should he find the Mets to have intentionally withheld Tejada's service, the league would likely change his status and potentially penalize the Mets.