The New York Mets made news with a handful of big offseason additions, including Juan Soto and Pete Alonso. Another potentially significant addition came under the radar when the club signed former No. 4 overall draft pick Nick Madrigal to a one-year, $1.35 million contract. After three seasons with the Chicago White Sox, the team that selected him, and two with their crosstown rivals the Cubs, Madrigal’s offensive performance plummeted, with an anemic.535 OPS last season, down from.663 in 2023. As a result, the Cubs decided not to tender him, allowing Madrigal to become free agency.
That’s how the Mets got him, but Madrigal is out for “a long time” after dislocating and fracturing his left (non-throwing) shoulder in a spring game against the Washington Nationals on Sunday, according to an MRI on Monday. Madrigal has been placed on the 60-day disabled list, leaving the Mets with no suitable backup for 10-year veteran shortstop Francisco Lindor. However, there is one shortstop among the 65 unsigned free agents still on the market who would likely cost as little as Madrigal but has already had one great season with the Mets and has become a fan favorite among the Flushing Meadows fans. That would be Jose Iglesias, a 12-year veteran of seven MLB clubs who was initially signed by the Boston Red Sox in 2009 after defecting from Cuba at the age of 18, slipping away from the Cuban national team during an amateur international tournament in Canada.
That was in 2008. Iglesias, 35, has had a long career in baseball since then. He did not play at all in 2023, but returned to the Mets in 2024 on a one-year, $1.5 million contract. Iglesias not only posted the best offensive numbers of his career (aside from the shortened 2020 COVID season), with an.830 OPS and.337 batting average in 291 plate appearances, but he also scored a No. 1 hit single on Billboard magazine’s Latin music chart with his song “OMG,” recorded under the stage name “Candelita.” The song rapidly became the Mets’ unofficial theme song, inspiring the team on an unlikely playoff run that sent New York to the National League Championship Series before falling to eventual World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. “With Madrigal sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Mets’ infield depth is already looking thinner than expected,” observed Empire Sports Media founder Alexander Wilson following Madrigal’s injury. “Iglesias is the most logical choice. Given his age, he is unlikely to earn a large deal, but he would provide an experienced presence in the clubhouse.
Jake Elman of Athlon Sports reached a similar conclusion in an article published on Monday. “Iglesias still makes perfect sense for the Mets,” he wrote. “He’s a veteran batter who has played in New York and is a fan favorite. There is no danger in signing the 34-year-old on a one-year contract. (Iglesias actually turned 35 on January 5). However, Steve Adams of the MLB Trade Rumors podcast was more doubtful, noting on Wednesday’s program that because Iglesias has no minor league options, he would only make sense as a Mets acquisition if he agreed to a little league contract. Spotrac estimates that Iglesias will earn $1.7 million for a one-year contract. Will this happen? According to Mets beat reporter Tim Healey of Newsday, most likely not. Even with Madrigal’s departure, Healey stated that the Mets believe Iglesias is “not a fit” for the 2025 club.
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