{"id":43697,"date":"2025-03-25T01:22:25","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T01:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43697"},"modified":"2025-03-25T01:22:25","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T01:22:25","slug":"former-new-york-mets-fan-favorite-makes-nl-contender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43697","title":{"rendered":"Former New York Mets fan favorite makes NL Contender"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_4323,h_2431,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/inside_the_mets\/01jq2hva7nef9jvm8525.jpg\" alt=\"Oct 13, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Mets second base Jose Iglesias (11) reacts before game one of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images\" \/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"tagStyle_1bmarg5-o_O-style_gt0nzj-o_O-sidesPadding_1kaga1a\">\n<div>A former New York Mets fan favorite infielder has officially made the Opening Day roster for an NL rival.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_z4gxzi3gt\">The New York Mets are allegedly on the lookout for another right-handed infielder. That\u2019s what makes Sunday\u2019s news all the more painful for Mets fans.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_29snla2w7\">According to MLB Insider Jon Heyman, Jose Iglesias has made the Opening Day roster for the San Diego Padres. Despite becoming the heart-and-soul of the Mets last season, the 35-year-old was allowed to leave in free agency due to New York&#8217;s logjam of infield prospects. Even when Iglesias\u2019 replacement, Nick Madrigal, went down with a season-ending shoulder injury, the Mets were determined to fill the spot internally.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jose Iglesias, Mr. OMG, is making Padres<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JonHeyman\/status\/1903916767807705361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_rh03yh2rg\">Iglesias signed a one-year minor league deal with the Padres, which will now pay him $3 million this season after making the team. The 12-year veteran will likely act as the primary backup around the infield for Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Jake Cronenworth.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_98j5mz98x\">In 85 games for the Mets last season, Iglesias slashed an excellent .337\/.381\/.448 with a 137 wRC+; defensively, he accumulated four defensive runs saved covering second base, third base, and shortstop.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_a3a7dj2y2\">According to a report by Joel Sherman of the <em>New York Post<\/em>, the Mets have held off on announcing their Opening Day lineup. The belief is they are holding out for a right-handed batter, which could mean that prospect Luisangel Acu\u00f1a will start the season at Triple-A. This would also open the door to Brett Baty making the roster as the team\u2019s primary second baseman, at least until Jeff McNeil returns from injury.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_omkevmz0e\">Hindsight is certainly 20\/20 and missing out on Iglesias is likely due more to nostalgia than anything. Yes, Iglesias filled in admirably for the Mets last season when needed. But at the time of his signing with the Padres, McNeil was not injured and the organization has been insistent on allowing top prospects to make larger contributions this season.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"style_1y6if9u-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_aymnnhgi9\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1903920567486497036&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fmlb%2Fmets%2Fnews%2Fformer-new-york-mets-fan-favorite-jose-iglesias-makes-nl-contender-michael9&amp;sessionId=f39d8e0278f5dd6f294bfa3e0e57cf1f5c5bcd50&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1903920567486497036\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_i3vqdjcv9\">Mets fans should be thrilled for Iglesias; at the age of 35, he is still a consistent contributor and a major league-caliber player. A reunion in Queens just wasn\u2019t in the plans for the Mets this season, as they start their new era with\u00a0Juan Soto\u00a0as the centerpiece. Candelita will always be fondly remembered for the magical run that the team had in 2024, but it was time for the Mets to turn the page with World Series aspirations on the horizon.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_wz7rw6pj6\">Mets fans should be thrilled for Iglesias; at the age of 35, he is still a consistent contributor and a major league-caliber player. A reunion in Queens just wasn\u2019t in the plans for the Mets this season, as they start their new era with Juan Soto as the centerpiece. Candelita will always be fondly remembered for the magical run that the team had in 2024, but it was time for the Mets to turn the page with World Series aspirations on the horizon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The New York Mets are allegedly on the lookout for another right-handed infielder. That\u2019s what makes Sunday\u2019s news all the more painful for Mets fans. According<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":43698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Former New York Mets fan favorite makes NL Contender - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43697\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former New York Mets fan favorite makes NL Contender - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New York Mets are allegedly on the lookout for another right-handed infielder. 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