PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla — It’s the end of an era.
On Wednesday, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns declared the Jose Iglesias era (pretty much) over.
“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. “It’s important for us to have some roster flexibility with that spot.”
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A few notable infielders present at Clover Park, the Mets’ spring training complex, on Wednesday, include Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Nick Madrigal, who signed with the team at the end of January. Luisangel Acuña is also believed to be in competition for a job on the opening day roster.
Iglesias provided the Mets with a spark when he was called up from Triple-A Syracuse on May 31. At that point, they had a 24-33 record, third worst in the National League. After, they went 65-40, the best record in MLB.
In 85 games last season, he slashed .337/.381/.448 and posted a career-high 3.1 bWAR.
His hit song “OMG,” performed under the moniker Candelita, quickly became an anthem — Iglesias even performed the song at Citi Field after a Mets in June. His musical success and impressive turn even earned him an invitation to perform ahead of the Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field, the site of the All-Star game, where teammate Pete Alonso participated.
More notes from spring training (Feb. 12)
Mets done making moves?
After bringing back first baseman Pete Alonso, there’s little room for anyone else on the Mets’ roster — and Stearns agrees.
Asked if he’s done making key additions to the roster, Stearns said, “I think so.”
“Look, we’re always going to be involved in conversations. We’re always going to be trying to see if there are ways we can get better,” Stearns said. “We also feel really good about the group we have that’s reporting right now. And I would anticipate, by and large, this is the team we’re going forward with.”
Reliever A.J. Minter (hip) Update
The Mets’ new bullpen addition threw a “medium volume” bullpen on Wednesday. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said it was “encouraging” to see him throw off a mound to a catcher, even if it wasn’t at full strength.
The Mets signed Minter for two years, $22 million with an opt-out in January. Since becoming a regular with the Braves in 2018, he’s ranked in the top 1/3 in the league in ERA (3.29), FIP (2.98) strikeouts (396) and fWAR (6.4) during that span.
In 39 games last season, Minter allowed 10 runs in 34 1/3 innings (2.62 ERA) with 35 strikeouts. He saw a dip in his strikeout percentage from 31.5% in 2023 to 26.1%. The Mets have proven capable of helping pitchers find themselves again.
“The goal is, at the end of the month, his intensity, you know, he’s picking it up and then, hopefully, moves on to live BPs,” Mendoza said. “If we can get him somewhere between four or five games before we break camp, I don’t want to put a number, but that’s the ideal for a reliever.”
Evaluating Kodai Senga’s Bullpen
Senga threw a bullpen session on Wednesday and Mendoza thought “he looked good.”
The 32-year-old right-hander is coming off of an injury-riddled season in which he only managed 5 1/3 innings in the regular season and then another five in the postseason.
So while Mendoza liked what he saw from his ace, who used all of his pitches and danced around with velocity in his bullpen, he’s eager to get to know him better on the field.
“I feel like we do have a really good relationship off the field, but now when it’s time to go get him and take the ball away from him, I want to see how he reacts,” Mendoza said. “Just having that relationship with him. I’m really looking forward to it.