NY Mets fans are reaching into the past with a desired Francisco Lindor replacement

If Grae Kessinger or Jackson Cluff doesn’t excite you, you might be one of those New York Mets fans ready to dip into the recent past. Francisco Lindor making the Opening Day roster seems improbable even if we’re being told it’s on the table.

Do the Mets panic? It seems unlikely. Moreover, they don’t operate like the kind of team who’ll give into the desires of the fans when it comes to a depth move that’ll be temporary anyway.

Seeing a question mark at shortstop for Opening Day and underwhelming options, Mets fans have turned toward a familiar beloved name still sitting out in free agency. Hey Jose Iglesias, how would you like $1 million to be an early season roster cut?

Could the Mets actually reunite with Jose Iglesias?

Social media has been flooded with fans debating whether or not the team should sign Iglesias. We’ve been here before. With so much unknown about how ready Lindor will be, it seems completely out of the norm for the Mets to go out and do something like this.

Unable to move on from the 2024 season might’ve been a problem as to why the 2025 Mets felt stale. More importantly, Iglesias proved the 2024 performance was lightning in a bottle.

Iglesias hit .229 for the San Diego Padres last season. Other than the red from making contact, his Baseball Savant page has enough blue in it to the point you’d think it needs mouth-to-mouth.

He did play some shortstop, rating well with a 3 OAA. Despite the down year, the defense was solid enough at the position he’d play for the Mets. It doesn’t sound like, even in a worst-case scenario, Lindor would miss more than two weeks of the season. Given the choice between Iglesias and someone like Vidal Brujan, it’s hard to argue against not revisiting OMG.

The Mets have made many calculated moves this offseason to shuttle out players from the past in favor of ones with good locker room reputations for the 2026 season. That’s not to say everyone who was traded or let go in free agency was toxic. It also doesn’t suggest they need to be adamant on revisiting players who fit in well recently such as Iglesias.

The trouble with signing Iglesias is it automatically makes him a virtual lock to get cut as soon as Lindor returns. He serves no purpose on the bench. The rest of the infield players everyday and they already have enough alternative options at the moment.

It’s a romantic thought and how can you not be romantic about baseball?

It would be a nice Valentine’s Day gift for many fans, but like those dozen roses you’re going to overpay for Saturday morning, they’ll wither quickly just as an Iglesias reunion would.