2024 Mets Report Card: Jose Iglesias, IF
Player Data: 34 (01/05/1990)
B/T: R/R
Traditional Stats: 291 PA, .337/.381/.448/.830, 91 H, 4 HR, 26 RBI
Advanced Stats: 137 wRC+, 13.4% K%, 4.1% BB%, .382 BABiP, .312 xwOBA, 2.5 fWAR, 3.1 bWAR, 2 OAA, 4 DRS
2024 Salary: $1.5 million
Grade: A
2024 Review
Jose Iglesias inked a minor league deal with the Mets in December of 2023 after taking a year off from baseball.
He didn’t make the team’s Opening Day roster, but rather than opting out of his deal to pursue an opportunity with another club, Iglesias begrudgingly accepted his assignment to Triple-A Syracuse with the promise from David Stearns he’d be the first infielder they call up when needed. The 34-year-old hit a solid .273/.309/.442 in 175 plate appearances for Syracuse before getting called up to aid the struggling Mets, who were 10 games under .500, on May 31.
Not known much for his bat, Iglesias did nothing but rake after earning his promotion. He went 1-for-4 in his season debut, but after that game, Iglesias’ batting average was never again below .300 and the worst he hit in a month was .276 in August. Iglesias started September going just 2-for-11 in three games but finished the month on a 22-game hitting streak, during which he batted .395/.429/.477 and became the team’s everyday lead-off hitter while Francisco Lindor battled a back injury.
Iglesias was particularly great with men in scoring position – he batted .375/.419/.482 in those situations, and an even more impressive .440/.500/.560 with two outs and runners in scoring position. All told, Iglesias batted .337/.381/.448 and set career highs in both fWAR (2.5) and bWAR (3.1) despite playing in just 85 games.
While his bat cooled off a little bit in the playoffs, he still had a couple of clutch moments – he singled to extend a rally in the eighth inning of Game 1 of the NLDS, then drove a two-run single to pad the lead in Game 3 of that series.
Iglesias was almost exclusively a shortstop in his younger years, he proved to be a solid defender at both second base and third base. He played 477 innings at second, recording 1 DRS and 0 OAA, and racked 4 DRS and 2 OAA at the hot corner in 130 innings.
Iglesias’ impact off the field was well documented, with his hit single “OMG” blasting through Citi Field after every Mets home run. He is symbolic of a fully authentic Mets team. After the Mets promoted Iglesias, the team went 66-40, and 52-33 in games Iglesias played.
2025 Outlook
Iglesias will likely get a healthy raise in salary, perhaps even earning a multi-year contract. There are some metrics indicating he may regress – he had a .382 BABiP despite just a .312 xwOBA, 2.2% barrel rate, and .368 xSLG. However, his .286 xBA is still well above league average, and despite a 39.5% chase rate, he had a strong 13.4% strikeout rate and 15.2% whiff rate. Across the board, his batted-ball metrics showed significant improvement from the rest of his career, outside of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Even if Iglesias doesn’t hit .337 again or play every day, he still has value to this roster. He can spell Jeff McNeil, Mark Vientos, or Francisco Lindor whenever they need rest while allowing Luisangel Acuña to develop a little more in the minor leagues. It would be wise for the Mets to keep Iglesias around for his presence on and off the field.
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