Yankees’ final free agent infield dream dies with latest Padres signing
It’s official. The New York Yankees will not be able to capture the 2024 Mets’ magic in the upcoming season (in one specific way).
In the final roster blow that we all knew was coming, but didn’t want to admit during the intervening lull, free agent infielder Jose Iglesias has agreed to a contract with the San Diego Padres, per FanSided’s MLB insider Robert Murray.
Iglesias professed throughout the offseason that he’d love to return to the New York Mets, but that bridge appeared to be burned by Mets management months ago. Despite inspiring the “OMG” celebration that helped fuel an underdog run to the NLCS, the veteran infielder didn’t quite have the same sway as Pete Alonso. Try as he might, he couldn’t get David Stearns and Steve Cohen to a private meeting to hammer out a deal.
And so the Padres will benefit from the 35-year-old spark plug who posted a 137 (!!!) OPS+ last season, while the Yankees either stick with their internal infield options (Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza) or pull off a last-second trade.
Free-agent infielder Jose Iglesias and the San Diego Padres are in agreement on a contract, according to sources familiar with the deal.
