Predicting where these 5 remaining NY Mets free agents will sign

2) Jose Iglesias

Jose Iglesias became a fan favorite during the 2024 season. The Mets originally sign Iglesias to a minor league contract in December of 2023, but became one of the Mets’ best hitters during the second half of the season. Along with a great performance on the field, his personality and his performance of his song “OMG” only grew his popularity among fans.

Iglesias batted .337/.381/.448 with a .362 wOBA, and 137 wRC+. He has never been one to strikeout much, and he went down on strike three just 13.4% of the time in 2024. But Iglesias hit just four home runs with a .111 isolated slugging percentage and walked at a 4.1% rate. But it was still his best season per wRC+ in at least 250 plate appearances of his career. Although xwOBA didn’t love his performance, his .312 mark was another career-best outside of the shortened 2020 season. On the plus side, he still had a strong .285 xBA.

Most of Iglesias’ playing time was up the middle at second base, where he logged 477 innings. He graded out as a solid defender at the keystone with +1 defensive run saved and out above average. Despite having far less playing time at third base with 130 innings, he still had +4 DRS and +2 OAA. Iglesias has primarily been a shortstop for most of his career but only saw 18 frames at the position in 2024.

It’s unlikely the Mets will reunite with Iglesias, as fun as he may be. With young infielders like Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuna on hand, Iglesias doesn’t have a great fit on the Mets’ current roster. Mets fans may not like this, but the crosstown rival New York Yankees seem like they’re a great fit for Iglesias. They’re still in the market for an infielder now that they’ve lost Gleyber Torres to the Detroit Tigers and need more depth up the middle.