The Mets announced Monday afternoon that infielder Ruben Tejada, injured on a slide into second base by the Dodgers' Chase Utley in NLDS Game 2, won't need surgery to fix the non-displaced fractured fibula in his right leg.
CBS MLB Insider Jon Heyman reports that Tejada instead will spend 6-8 weeks in a cast, and be ready for spring training in February. A day earlier, the Mets called up infielder Matt Reynolds, a career minor-leaguer to date, to replace Tejada on the NLDS roster.
Major League Baseball suspended Utley for Games 3 and 4 of the series, which continues Monday night at Citi Field, though Utley has appealed and is expected to be available off the bench -- if he's not in the starting lineup. Heyman also reports that Utley's appeal won't be heard in time for Game 3 or 4, so any penalty will be held into abeyance until due process completes.
In case you have not seen the play in question:
There has been talk of MLB strengthening existing rules designed to protect middle infielders on plays like that -- which amounts to enforcement -- or changing the rules, like the league did in the wake of the Buster Posey incident from 2011.
