Beloved Mets Veteran Utility Player Named As Top Royals Free-Agent Target
The Kansas City Royals have certainly broken the New York Mets' hearts before.
In the 2015 World Series, the Royals breezed past the Mets to claim a 4-1 series victory, clinching the Commissioner's Trophy on the Mets' home field as an added insult. Nearly a decade has passed, but Mets fans rarely forget their team's most agonizing defeats.
This winter, the Royals could be poised to inflict pain on the Mets yet again. But rather than beating New York on the field, Kansas City could beat them to the punch in signing a current Mets fan-favorite to a free-agent deal.
Mets utility infielder Jose Iglesias, one of the team's biggest inspirational leaders, will become available after signing on a one-year minor league deal with the Mets before the season. Jody Jones of FanSided named Iglesias as a target for the Royals to bookmark heading into the winter.
"Iglesias has lit a fire underneath the New York Mets, helping to lead them into the National League Championship Series," Jones said. "Now entering free agency for the first time in his career, the 34-year-old would fit perfectly into the Royals’ offensive philosophy of putting the ball in play to take advantage of their spacious home ballpark."
After playing the first month of the season in the minors, the 34-year-old Iglesias has been the definition of a glue guy for the Mets. His hit song, "OMG," which hit number-one on the Latin American pop charts and has a brand-new remix featuring Pitbull, plays every time the Mets hit a home run at home.
But Iglesias isn't just a pop sensation these days--he can flat-out rake, too. He put up a .337/.381/.448 slash line in 85 games this season for the Mets, meaning he would have won the National League batting title if he had enough at-bats to qualify.
The Mets would hate to see "Candelita" leave New York, but the Royals could likely offer him more starting opportunities in 2025 than the Mets would be able to. Top prospects Luisangel Acuña and Ronny Mauricio will be clamoring for playing time in Queens, while Kansas City's infield depth chart is wide open.
Having an upbeat veteran presence who can plug and play at any infield position is invaluable to any playoff contender. And if Iglesias can somehow produce at a similar level to what he's done for the Mets in 2025, the Royals would be thrilled to have him.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org