Greg Garcia fights to keep roster spot

11:52 PM ET

WASHINGTON — The St. Louis Cardinals made it clear to Greg Garcia when he got in after a five-hour flight from Salt Lake City two days ago: He was here to be Matt Carpenter’s babysitter, nothing more.

Garcia would take care of Carpenter’s third-base position for 48 hours so the All-Star third baseman could be with his wife and newborn daughter back in St. Louis. Garcia came to Nationals Park on Friday afternoon with his bags packed, figuring he would get a ticket to Las Vegas, the next stop for the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, when Carpenter returned from the paternity list Saturday.

But a funny thing happened. Nobody had handed Garcia that ticket by late in the evening Friday. By playing as if today was all he had, Garcia may have guaranteed himself a tomorrow.

“We’ll see what happens,” Garcia said hopefully.

Believing he was headed back to the minor leagues, Greg Garcia said he relaxed and played more freely. Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports

Ruben Tejada was the one in discussions with Cardinals traveling secretary C.J. Cherre after Friday night’s 6-2 Cardinals win over the Washington Nationals, which could portend that he is the one headed out rather than Garcia. It’s a far bigger hassle for general manager John Mozeliak, since Tejada, on a guaranteed $1.5 million deal, would have to be designated for …

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