This offseason has been both a positive and frustrating one for the Philadelphia Phillies. On one hand, they re-signed Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto and added Brad Keller and Adolis Garcia.

But, they also lost Ranger Suarez, Harrison Bader, traded away Matt Strahm, and got agonizingly close to signing Bo Bichette before he signed with the New York Mets.

While not exactly revenge for the Mets stealing Bichette, the Phillies did, according to Phillies Tailgate on Twitter/x, hire a former Mets infielder to be a new coach. And this former Met has some interesting history with Chase Utley.

Phillies hire former Mets infielder with Chase Utley history as new coach

“The Phillies hired former New York Mets infielder Ruben Tejada as Position Coach for the Florida Complex League Phillies (FCL),” Phillies Tailgate shares.

This hiring from the Phillies is an interesting one. Ruben Tejada is the Mets player from the infamous Chase Utley slide into second base, which took Tejada out, leading to an injury.

Since then, Mets fans have had a vendetta against Utley. While it didn’t occur when Utley played for the Phillies, as it came during his days with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Mets fans have plenty of reason not to like the Phillies or Utley.

Tejada is 36 years old and last played in the Major Leagues for the Mets during the 2019 MLB season. He only appeared in six games, posting -0.2 bWAR.

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He was also previously with the Phillies as a player in 2021, but only lasted a few months with the team before being released, and getting signed by the Chicago White Sox for his last time on an MLB club’s roster.

In his MLB career, which spanned nine seasons and 663 total games, Tejada put up 4.5 bWAR, 530 hits, 10 home runs, 158 RBIs, and ended his career with a .641 OPS and 81 OPS+.

He’s played in the Mexican League since then, and most recently was playing for Caliente De Durango, where he hit .286 with a .769 OPS in 21 games before being released in January of 2026.

Now, the longtime Met and player from the infamous Utley collision at second base is joining the Phillies organization as a coach for the Florida Complex League.

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