Jose Iglesias wants to keep the good thing that he created with the New York Mets going.
The veteran infielder and pop star, who became the face of the Mets’ 2024 turnaround when he was called up in May, batted .337 with an .830 OPS in 85 games and dropped the soundtrack of the summer with his smash-hit “OMG” is still a free agent and is holding out hope that he can return to Queens in 2025.
“It hurts because we started something that definitely isn’t finished yet,” Iglesias told Jon Heyman of the New York Post. “It took a lot for us to get where we got. That’s what hurts. I definitely get that it’s a business. But it definitely hurts…
“It’s not over until I sign with someone else. That’s what my gut is telling me.”
While his gut says one thing, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said something entirely different. Last week, he seemingly slammed the door on any possibility of Iglesias coming back this year.
“I think where we are now for that role on our team, it’s important for us to keep some avenues open for some of our younger payers. It’s important for us to have some roster flexibility with that spot. It’s really tough to freeze your entire position player roster. We did that for a portion of last year, and we actually got away with it. But there easily could’ve been a circumstance where we got stuck with a completely frozen position player roster. So, having some flexibility in that role is frankly probably needed for us right now.”
Necessity forced the Mets to call up Iglesias, who signed in December of 2023 to a minor-league deal, after Zack Short and Joey Wendle could not provide the necessary infield depth that Stearns was hoping for.
This offseason, though, the Mets have plenty more options, which has made Iglesias expendable.
The return of Pete Alonso ensures that Mark Vientos remains at third base, meaning a starting infield spot is no longer up for grabs — one that forecasted a battle between Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuna, and Ronny Mauricio while Vientos shifted to first.
With Jeff McNeil the overwhelming favorite for the starting second-base job, reserve roles are up for grabs between Baty, Acuna, and Jared Young, who are hoping to break camp with the major-league roster. Mauricio, who is finishing his recovery from ACL surgery, is not expected to be available for the start of the season.
Jett Williams, the organization’s No. 1 prospect, could also find himself knocking on the door of the majors as early as this summer.
The Mets also signed veteran utility infielder Nick Madrigal, who becomes a logical defensive replacement for Vientos at third in the late innings. Madrigal also has experience playing second and will spend this spring getting plenty of reps at shortstop, too.
If the Mets decide to carry just one backup infielder, he will have to be capable of playing all three positions. With so many options, there simply does not seem to be any room for Iglesias.
