Cardinals activate shortstop Ruben Tejada but have nowhere to play him

The St. Louis Cardinals activated shortstop Ruben Tejada from the 15-day disabled list Monday, even though they don’t have a regular job for him.

Tejada, who as a New York Mets shortstop suffered a broken leg when the Dodgers’ Chase Utley slid into him during a National League division series last fall — a play that prompted a rules change in baseball — had been sidelined this month by a strained left quadriceps. He recovered from that injury but was on the bench Monday against the Chicago Cubs, with rookie Aledmys Diaz starting. Diaz is batting .400 with two homers and eight runs batted in.

The Cardinals signed Tejada, 26, on March 19 after he was released by the Mets. He figured to start in place of shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who is recovering from a torn ligament in his left thumb. But Diaz and Jedd Gyorko have played well during Tejada’s absence.

“The door opened for Diaz and what’s not to like about what he’s done here?” Manager Mike Matheny said. “That was something we didn’t necessarily anticipate. He needs to play.”

Twins hire Gardenhire

Minnesota hired former manager, Ron Gardenhire, as a special assistant to General Manager Terry Ryan. His responsibilities will include traveling to minor league affiliates as an instructor and evaluator. Gardenhire, AL manager of the year in 2010, guided the Twins for 13 seasons, winning six AL Central titles and 1,068 games, second in club history to Tom Kelly. He was fired in 2014.

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