One of the interesting subplots to the 2016 season was going to be when Chase Utley stepped into the batter’s box against the Mets. One of the young Mets hurlers was going to have a chance to plunk Utley as retribution for what he did to their teammate, Ruben Tejada. 

The problem is Tejada is no longer a Met. He’s a Cardinal. He’s off trying to help some other team try to win a World Series. When the Cardinals face the Dodgers, I’m sure it’ll be news that Utley and Tejada are facing each other for the first time since the NLDS. However, I doubt that Cardinals pitchers will be expected to exact revenge upon Utley for something that didn’t happen while Tejada was wearing a Mets uniform.  Does this mean the Mets then have that obligation?

Do the Mets have to go out and plunk Utley?  The message here is you went out and injured one of our own on a dirty play. We don’t care if Tejada is wearing another uniform or not, we will still stand up for our guys. It’s a message that the 2016 Mets will not back down to anybody. It’s a message that if you go after one of their players, you will have to answer for it. 

Of course, it would be perfectly justifiable for the Mets to not plunk Utley. The 2016 Mets can still be the team that doesn’t back down to anyone without hitting Utley. While the Mets might still be upset over the play, Tejada is a Cardinal. They very reasonably could determine it’s up to the Cardinals to handle Utley now.  

Overall, it’s fair to say the Mets are in a no-lose situation no matter how they choose to handle this situation. Actually, no, the Mets are in a no-lose situation so long as they don’t repeat the Shawn Estes situation. 

Editor’s Note: this also appeared on metsmerizedonline.com