Many believe the call-up of Jose Iglesias in May helped turn the Mets‘ 2024 season around, and it’s hard to argue.
The veteran infielder signed with the Mets on a minor league deal the offseason before and stayed ready in Triple-A before getting the call. The Mets would go on to pick up 33 wins in June and July to turn their season around, en route to an NLCS berth. And Iglesias was in the middle of it all. He hit .337 with a .829 OPS last season, played his typical plus defense and brought the vibes to the Mets locker room.
“It was a special year,” Iglesias told Jon Heyman of the NY Post. “It was an OMG year.”
Iglesias remains a free agent despite his impressive 2024. The 35-year-old infielder continues to train at the Boras Sports Training Institute in Florida waiting for a call from the Mets. However, that call may not come as Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns seemingly shut the door on a potential reunion with Igleasias.
“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 players,” Stearns said of the Mets’ interest in Iglesias. “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 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 there in that role is frankly probably needed for us right now.”
“It hurts because we started something that definitely isn’t finished yet,” Iglesias said. “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.”
Stearns and the Mets are looking to keep a space open in the infield for their group of prospects including Ronny Mauricio, Brett Baty, Jett Williams and Luisangel Acuna, but are also carrying Jeff McNeil on the roster as well. And with Pete Alonso back in the fold, the Mets’ payroll is ballooning.
Heyman notes that Iglesias has options in free agency, and the infielder says that he doesn’t want to “rob the bank” but is still holding out hope that the Mets will ask for an encore performance.
“It’s not over until I sign with someone else,” Iglesias said. “That’s what my gut is telling me.”
