An active offseason for the Mets looks to be largely completed. President of baseball operations David Stearns suggested during a session with the team’s beat yesterday that the Alonso deal was likely the team’s final big splash (video link via the Mets). Asked if felt he was done with major additions, Stearns replied:
“I think so. We’re always going to be involved in conversations. We’re always going to be trying to see if there are ways we can get better. We also feel really good about the group we have that’s reporting right now, and I would anticipate, by and large, that this is the team we’re going forward with.”
While it’s not a decisive declaration that there are no further transactions on the horizon, it seems likeliest that those would come via non-roster invitation. The Mets possesses a veteran roster that’s largely made up of players with five-plus years of MLB service or players who’ve exhausted their minor league options. Further veteran signings/acquisitions could exacerbate what’s already some fairly limited roster flexibility. Stearns’ response when asked whether the team was moving on from infielder Jose Iglesias is rather telling, in that regard:
“I think where we are now, for that role on our team, it’s important for us to keep some avenues open for some of our younger players. We think it’s important for us to have some roster flexibility with that spot. It’s really tough to freeze your entire position player roster. We did that for a portion last year, and we actually kind of got away with it, but there very easily could’ve been a circumstance where we got stuck with a completely frozen position player roster, so having some flexibility there in that role is, frankly, probably needed for us right now.”
That’s a disappointing reply for Mets fans who fell in love with Iglesias in what proved to be a renaissance campaign for the 35-year-old. Originally signed to a minor league deal, Iglesias was summoned to the majors at the end of May and became not only a highly productive role player but a fan and clubhouse favorite thanks to his OMG song that became a rallying cry. In 85 games, Iglesias took 291 plate appearances and batted .337/.381/.448. However, that production was way out of sync with his career norms (.279/.319/.382 entering the season) and was buoyed by a sky-high .382 average on balls in play that he’s not likely to repeat.
Beyond some justifiable questions about Iglesias’ ability to sustain his 2024 output, the “flexibility” aspect of Stearns’ reply is worth drilling into a bit further. Right now, the only member of the Mets’ projected lineup who can be optioned to Triple-A is catcher Francisco Alvarez. They’ll have three bench players — backup catcher Luis Torrens, backup outfielder Tyrone Taylor and outfielder/DH Starling Marte — who cannot be optioned. (Outfielder Jose Azocar is also out of options, so he’ll need to earn a roster spot or else be DFA later in camp.)
Adding Iglesias would create a fourth, effectively “freezing” the team’s entire group of position players, as Stearns suggested. That could be a reason the team opted to bring infielder Nick Madrigal into the mix. He provides similar bat-to-ball skills and infield versatility but also has a minor league option remaining, which will create more flexibility as the season wears on.
It’s similar on the pitching staff. Kodai Senga and David Peterson are the only starters who can be optioned. Reed Garrett is the only member of the projected ’pen who can be optioned. Each of Edwin Diaz, A.J. Minter, Ryne Stanek, Jose Butto, Griffin Canning, Danny Young and Sean Reid-Foley is either out of options or past five years of MLB service.
That lack of flexibility is magnified when there’s a player in the lineup who perhaps needs two to four days off but probably not a full IL stint. It’s also notable when a specific reliever or the relief corps as a whole is overworked and the team would like to add a fresh arm to the mix. There could very well be some uncomfortable DFAs on the horizon for the Mets, though injuries or poor spring performances can make those decisions easier.
If the Mets are indeed done, they’ll enter the 2025 season with the game’s No. 2 payroll, trailing only the reigning World Series champs in Los Angeles. Stearns noted that he and owner Steve Cohen mapped out various scenarios regarding their potential payroll early in the offseason, and the point at which the Mets have now landed was toward the highest ranges the pair discussed at the time. RosterResource projects the Mets for a $331MM payroll, with $325MM on their luxury-tax ledger.
Oh my God haha said it first
This is outrageous
No, it’s not.
I guess Stearns is happy with third again and hoping they get lucky in playoffs once more.
I mean, they added Soto.
They also added Alosno, Manaea, Holmes, Montas, Minter, Stanek, and Canning.
It’s like people think the Mets added Soto and did nothing else.
Well, they didn’t really “add” Alonso. They just sort of kept him.
They added him to the 40-man as he wasn’t there after the season ended, but technically he remains with the only organization he’s played.
alonzo and manea are not additions they were with the mets last year.just sayin.
ALONSO
It’s because nobody thinks much of the cast of Holmes, Montas, Canning, Stanek, etc. We know who they added, it is just unimpressive. Also, the Mets and their fans act like they have no budget. The team with no budget signed Soto and then went straight to the bargain bin. They signed Soto and a bunch of guys that are not difference makers. That is why you are seeing the reaction from non-Mets fans to the Mets’ offseason.
larkraxm
The Mets haven’t liked the free agent or trade markets for a TOR SP yet. It’s also still only February.
I’m sure alot of the unimpressed outsiders last year were saying Manaea and Severino were bad acquisitions as well and that if Stearns was as smart as they were then he would’ve gotten Jordan Montgomery or whoever.
The goal was to get as many innings as they can from the least amount of resources. They did a fine job at that.
They spent $630M more than any other team, they’re good. They did enough. Go chastise the Cardinals and whatever teams literally spent $0 to improve their teams this winter.
Let the GM do his job
I was replying to the comment-
“It’s like people think the Mets added Soto and did nothing else”.
I really don’t care. I’m a Yankees fan that doesn’t think much of Clay Holmes not being able to get three outs, and leading the league in blown saves, suddenly getting 15+ outs consistently and Montas is a number four or five at best and has negative value at worst. I’m glad you all are happy with your roster. I wish you all the worst of luck on the upcoming season.
I see misery likes company. As a long transplanted New Yorker, I wish the Yankees another successful year. When I was younger, I, too, rooted against the Yankeees.
And then I grew up. You should try it.
larkraxm,
I see misery likes company. As a long transplanted New Yorker, I wish the Yankees another successful year. When I was younger, I, too, rooted against the Yankeees.
And then I grew up. You should try it.
I don’t expect casual fans to think adding Holmes, Montas, Canning, Stanek, and Minter is impressive. However, It’s not shopping in the bargain bin, it’s being smart on how to use your financial flexibility.
This is about building sustainability — so signing a second FA that has a QO attached is almost off limits. You can’t just keep losing draft picks every year.
Burnes was dead set on pitching in Arizona. The Yankees were not getting outbid for Fried after getting outbid for Soto.
It’s about adding depth, minimizing the risk by not adding multiple long-term contracts, and exploiting market inefficiencies.
The Clay Holmes signing is a perfect example of exploiting the market for SP’s. If he works out as a SP you literally have him at a value at $13 million for 3 years. The going rate for SP is at least $17 million.
David Stearns was not hired to just spend Cohen’s money. He was hired to find undervalued players with the financial freedom of Cohen’s money.
I am a Yankees fan. It seems that when you grew up, you forgot how to read. I grew up and still read. I have never liked the Mets, their fan base, or their Boise State Broncos uniforms. I didn’t wish them bodily harms, just lots of losses. I think the Mets are the East Coast Angels with a star and no supporting cast. Not liking your cross-town rivals is called sports. This isn’t girl scout sleep over camp, it’s MLB. I didn’t realize that the Mets and their fans were so soft. I guess that explains the orange and blue uniforms.
I’m glad you are happy. I think they are a collection of chumps I wouldn’t want on my roster for free. I’m not a casual fan. I am a fan that watched a lot of Clay Holmes over the past three seasons and saw Montas wash out in NY. Luckily, we won’t have to wait long to find out.
Yeah lol okay guy. Good luck this year. Not worth arguing with someone who doesn’t understand roster construction and the economics of the game.
We will find out who understands what soon enough, “guy”. That is the great part of this. We will get 162 games to see who knows this or that about the economics of the game and roster construction. I think Montas and Holmes are hacks and wouldn’t want them to construct my roster for free. You think they are pieces of a championship Mets roster. There is no argument, just differing opinions that will soon be clarified for everyone. Save this post, “guy”. We can talk at the end of the season.
“I think they are a collection of chumps I wouldn’t want on my roster for free.”
This has the potential to age so badly if Holmes and Montas are like sub 4 ERAs across 150+IP while you’re still dealing with crybaby Stroman.
“Mets are the East Coast Angels with a star and no supporting cast”
Who is the star? The guy you desperately tried to resign but didn’t want to play for you even for 3/4 of a billion dollars? Or do you mean the MVP candidate shortstop? Are you referring to the kid who is projected to hit 40+ HRS at 3b or the guy at 1st who is a perennial 35-50 HR threat?
This has the potential to age so badly if Holmes and Montas are like sub 4 ERAs across 150+IP while you’re still dealing with crybaby Stroman
It also has the potential to be spot on as well. Holmes has never been a starter, and, unfortunately for the Mets, Montas has. I’m not sure why all of a sudden Holmes will go from not being able to get through one inning to being able to get through five plus innings with a sub 4.0 ERA. That is called hoping without any evidence. I’m skeptical. The Yankees will pay for Stroman to go away. You are right. He sucks. See how easy that is. You don’t have to justify Clay Holmes and Montas just because your GM signed them.
“I’m not sure”
That part we can agree on.
“Holmes has never been a starter”
Ok. We’re all aware of that. You don’t need to keep stating it. We’re all aware. Don’t be afraid.
“That is called hoping without any evidence”
No. See Severino, Luis or Manaea, Sean. Look at the acclaim Mets pitching development has been receiving, specifically Jeremy Hefner. Look at the resources poured into the pitching lab and the results after only 1 year.
There is evidence, whether you care to acknowledge it or not.
“You don’t have to justify Clay Holmes and Montas just because your GM signed them”
You don’t have to belittle them just because your GM didn’t.
I’m only “belittling them” because I’ve seen them pitch, not because Holmes won’t be blowing more saves than any other closer in MLB for us next year. I’m glad that you are happy. The Mets had a team ERA that was 15 in the league last year. I’m glad that makes you happy. Have a fun season. I know I will.
It’s so funny you declared the Mets a team w 1 Star and a bunch of scrubs. You literally have a 10WAR player then a bunch of 2 WAR has-beens or players like Chisholm who is as overrated as any player in the league.
I’m sure you’ll easily make the WS again with your aging SP staff and you’ll barely even notice that Sotos 8 WAR is gone. You’ll be great!
Soto is a generational talent, for sure. That was a great get for the Boise Sate Broncos, I mean NY Mets. I get them confused in those uniforms. Judge without Soto and Soto without Judge is not the same for either player or team. I would rather have our rotation and bullpen than yours, aging or not. The best player in the AL playoffs was not Judge or Soto. It was Big- G. I would much rather have Soto than not, but Montas and Holmes making up 2/5 of your rotation is like having DJLM starting at third. Iffy at best! I have no problem admitting our warts and potential problem spots. We didn’t create an immaculate roster this off season like the Boise Sate Broncos did.
Nah they’d be 1/3rd bc we have a 6 man rotation. Also we have like 5 other SPs to take their roles if they falter not even including the prospects.
Immaculate roster. Nice job. You all must be expecting to go 162-0. That will be fun for all of us. The rest of us regular teams have uncertainty at some positions.
” think they are a collection of chumps I wouldn’t want on my roster for free.’
“The rest of us regular teams have uncertainty at some positions.”
Are there 2 people using your account?
Nope. Our uncertainty is in the INF. Yours is in the rotation. I mean, you have none. You guys are going 162-0. Let’s print your banner now.
Hyperbolic silliness
I’m sorry. I tried to have a reasonable conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of the two NY team’s rosters, but you all pushed this to hyperbolic silliness, insisting that the Montas/Holmes experience is nothing but gold. “The Mets Haven’t Done Enough With Their Rotation” Article posted 02-07-2025 on the MLB trade rumors page. You may have heard of it. I am glad you are happy. Me and some other people, like Steve Adams, have some questions about your immaculate roster construction. I have questions about the Yankees roster, and watching how it plays out is part of the fun of the season. Some guys will take a step forward. Some guys will take a step back. A bull pen arm will come out of nowhere and make an impact. You seem to know how it is going to go for the Mets based on their top 15 finish in team ERA last year with different players that have since moved on. Knowing the result ahead of time will make the season less fun for you, but I guess that is how it goes.
Do you actually believe any of that crap you just wrote?
“I tried to have a reasonable conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of the two NY team’s rosters”
Oh yeah? You were trying to be reasonable you say?
“I think they are a collection of chumps I wouldn’t want on my roster for free.”
“I think Montas and Holmes are hacks and wouldn’t want them to construct my roster for free.”
“That was a great get for the Boise Sate Broncos, I mean NY Mets.”
“Montas and Holmes making up 2/5 of your rotation is like having DJLM starting at third.”
“We didn’t create an immaculate roster this off season like the Boise Sate Broncos did.”
“Immaculate roster. Nice job. You all must be expecting to go 162-0. That will be fun for all of us. The rest of us regular teams have uncertainty at some positions.”
“The team with no budget signed Soto and then went straight to the bargain bin”
Jeez Id hate to converse with you when you’re being unreasonable!
“Knowing the result ahead of time will make the season less fun for you, but I guess that is how it goes.” Oh yeah dang there’s that very reasonable level-headed non-hyperbolic silliness that we’ve come to love and expect from you!
-Written in the same comment where you cry about being called a hyperbolic sillyboy.. Literally in the same comment. LMAO.
Hypocrite.
“Jeez Id hate to converse with you when you’re being unreasonable!”
That is true. You would not want to see me being unreasonable. I am sorry you don’t like my take on Montas and Holmes. I think the difference is that if you, or anyone else, said that the Yankees plan on going into the season with DJLM as their every day third baseman leaves a lot to be desired, I would agree, not push back. Your OMG glitter colored glasses don’t allow you to have a measured take on those two pitchers in your starting rotation. I find that unreasonable. So do others, like Steve Adams. They may be the next Rollie Fingers and Vida Blue duo, but in my humblest of opinions, there is a question mark there. And yes. I believe that the Mets dress up like the Boise State Broncos!
Clearly you lack vision.and cannot evaluate potential or upside.
You think because Holmes hasn’t been a starter he can’t be a starter.
You think because Montas didn’t pitch well last year he’s incapable of pitching well again.
That’s a very sad way to live.
I can’t even get into the specifics of the deals w relation to the market because thats wayyyy too nuanced for you.
Good thing for me it’s not incumbent on me to spoon-feed this to you. If you want to be dismissive than enjoy your team of pitchers signed until their 40s and 2WAR players and worrying every year how you’re gonna escape whatever bad contract is looking worst; in 2025 thats Stroman.
Personally if the new Mets regime operated like the Yankees then that would be horrible. I dont want a team of fan-service signings lmao.
JFC to be lectured on roster-construction from a team that pays a 0.7WAR p[ayer 32 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.
What’s Jazz gonna get, he ALMOST hit 2.8 WAR so thats good for what, $400M over 15 years??
Leave the creative stuff to guys that actually have that ability.
It’s not nuanced. Those guys are going to get shelled. Spoon food it to Steve Adams. He also thinks there is a question mark over that rotation.
ALL HAIL STEVE ADAMS
Eat me, Yankee. You & your team stink.
ALL HAIL FRANKIE MONTAS!!!
“Frankie Montas Shut Down Six To Eight Weeks With Lat Strain.” Steve Adams is also reporting this story, so you could just choose not to believe it. If only somebody could have predicted this….
Yeah good point, I’m glad you got this epic win.
Here I was, telling anyone and everyone that Montas was invincible and would never have a lat strain that would cause him to miss 5 starts but I was so wrong!
Only you and Steve Adams knew this would happen.
It’s kinda incredible how much better you are at having opinions than I am. I’m really just not on your level. You have big brain. I is idiot.
It took a while to get there, but we made it! I watch a lot of baseball and was trying to help you out. You can be a fan of a team and admit that some position groups are thinner than others. I’m sure that he will only miss five starts. He won’t need any time to get ready and won’t miss not having a spring training. He has never been injured before, so I’m sure he will bounce back and be his old self again in no time.
Ok I’m not gonna be around to see tho, I’m so emasculated by your intelligence that I’m not watching baseball anymore. I’m gonna go sit in an empty room and contemplate all the ways you’re better than I am and the ways the yankees are better than the Mets and always have been and always will be.
To think: just a few hours ago I thought you were a glib putz who feels threatened by another teams acquisitions despite playing in a different league. I was fully convinced that you’re just a dopey boomer who doesn’t understand modern baseball but all thanks to this MAJOR GROUNDBREAKING INCIDENT, the 5th starter being out for 3-4 weeks, I’ve come to realize the error of my ways.
You’re really a man amongst men. Baseball teams should get rid of their analytics divisions and instead just text you for your opinions.
You da man!
I’m not the one who assembled the immaculate roster. You sat here for the last five days talking about the genius network that signed Montas and Holmes, and then smugly told me that you were all smarter than everyone else and your “pitching lab” had us all playing checkers when you guys were playing chess. I simply said that your rotation looks suspect, and then you told me that I was stupid for questioning the best roster ever assembled by in the history of MLB. I am “da man”. Not because I’m super smart, but because I watch a lot of baseball and pay attention to trends. I was only trying to tell you that you are thin in your rotation, and you turned into a whole thing about how your roster construction was beyond reproach. Now that I was right, you have descended into name-calling, which is further proof that I was right. Usually it takes longer for me to say I told you so, but this worked out nicely. Enjoy the season. Me, you, and Frankie Montas all get to watch a lot of baseball!
Bro your really should have stfu and took that very sarcastic and disingenuous win I was handing you but you can’t quite quit when you’re ahead, can you?
“You sat here for the last five days talking about the genius network that signed Montas and Holmes”
Produce the quote where I said that or stfu.
“then smugly told me that you were all smarter than everyone else and your “pitching lab” had us all playing checkers when you guys were playing chess. ”
Produce the quote where I said that or stfu.
“and you turned into a whole thing about how your roster construction was beyond reproach”
Produce the quote where I said that or stfu.
“I simply said that your rotation looks suspect”
No, you didn’t, you liar. You unloaded a bunch nonsense about not even wanting them if they were free. You made up hyperbolic negativity then got called on it BUT STILL CANNOT SUPPORT YOUR POSITION OR OPINION WITH ANY DATA AT ALL…..and now you’re the victim?
Is this a persecution fetish? Are you a Caucasian boomer because that’s remarkably common among that demo
I must be such a villain for using 1) direct quotes from you and 2) metrics.
(Just FYI that’s sarcasm bc you don’t seem to recognize it naturally)
For a further examples of why you’re a fraud who loves the smell of his own farts: you’re taking a victory lap because the 5th starter is missing 4-5 starts. You really set the bar low but I guess that suits your overall abilities.
I am taking a victory lap. Now he is a fifth starter that doesn’t matter, and two days ago he was Roger Clemens, and I was just too stupid to know it. I’m not a boomer. Are you a millennial who grew up in a house without consequences and have never been told you were wrong before? I wouldn’t want Holmes or Montas for free. There I said it again. I told you several days ago what was going to happen, then it happened. I wouldn’t even care if you were not insisting, like the millennial baby that you are, that you were so set on your roster and any sports writers questioning that were as dumb as me. This is what happens when you aren’t humble.
Lmao
“I am taking a victory lap.” // “This is what happens when you aren’t humble.”
L M A O
I’m glad that you had a good laugh! This was fun for me too! Have a great season!
NeverRemember
Iglesias is the difference b/w 3rd and a division title? You fr?
Yeah, but he hit .337, while Soto only hit .288.
You can say what you will about the sustainability of his success last year, but he was really clutch in right positions last season and he probably was just slightly beneath Lindor in an ancient statistic called “GWRBI”. The Sabermatricians and statheads never consider the intangibles that players like Iglesias bring to the game of baseball. He was a leader and bought the clubhouse together after they had been languishing at the bottom of the division for the first quarter of the season. He was their secret weapon that helped them rise out of the ashes. I hope the Phoenix gets another chance and helps catapult a team to a title. I would love the Angels to bring him back. He was great for us. His best friend in the team was Shohei.
The underlying issue with Iglesias is that he has to hit .400 on balls put in play to make his offense work. It’s very, very rare to do that even for one season, let alone repeat that as it’s dependent upon where you hit the ball, how the opposing defense does fielding it, and how fast you can run to first base. He might not be so lucky this year, and at age 35, can you realistically expect him to be as fast as he was in his prime?
In a small sample size in 21, he joined the Sox in September and they would not have made the playoffs without him. Although he could not be on the roster, he was a cheerleader and great clubhouse guy then. Would love him in Boston if there is room on the bench.
YES! troutahni? Jose to the Angels!!! Brilliant. Maybe write them a post card to let them know we want JOSE,
Jarred KBC? are you suggesting that Jose and his hitting must beware of the other teams defense and how fast Jose runs? Plus, WHERE jose hits the ball? Come on man, all that is kind of hard for one fellow aged 35? You must be a coach.
Trout – Well said!
And you’re right, the stat-heads don’t know about the intangibles because they don’t watch the games or follow the teams closely …. they watch the stats, nothing more. They aren’t baseball fans, they are Christian Wolff numbers fans.
They sign Soto to the largest contract in all of sports, and still managed to keep Alonso. I think they could and should have done more to add to the pitching staff but this team can bash their way to a playoff spot.
Might do. It’s easy to see the Mets with 8 players with a 100 OPS+ or better, and with 5 of those 8 well above 100.
Looks something like a rerun of last year, modest, fairly deep pitching that supports a good lineup. A pity, though, that Stearns settled for another arm in the $4m Reliever aisle rather than aiming higher with someone Robertson.
Well they resigned Sean manaea (who was HIM in the playoffs and late in the season) and signed clay Holmes so they did ok on the pitching front
If they think this a championship caliber roster they’re in for a rude awakening. Ahahahahaha!
AZ made it all the way to game 6 in 2023 with the power of friendship and rookies.
Iglesias was offered a one year deal. Unfortunately, he turned it down because he wanted a multiyear offer. The Mets pivoted to Madragil.
He’s not getting a multi-year deal. This is a 35 year old utility infielder that got lucky on batted-balls last year. Good for the Mets not buying high when you know regression is coming.
“To all the teams I’ve helped before
I’ll soon be knocking on your door
Just give me a spring invite
I’ll bring my own Bud Light
To all the teams I’ve helped before
To all the teams I once impressed
And may I say, I’ve joined the best
I’ll work for minimum wage
If you just ignore my age
To all the teams I’ve helped before” – J. Iglesias
Nice!!
If a role player, a backup MIer like Iglesias at 35 is still on his couch going into the third week of February, he’s a fool. And / or has Boras for an agent.
He might even have parlayed his good albeit fluke 2024 into a 2/10m contract with a second division team with a dismal IF and no one in the upper minors that’s better than replacement level, or at least 1/6m from that team for what’s likely to be something close to a 1-win contribution in 2025. At this point, though, 1/3-4m wouldn’t surprise me.
As for the foolishness of bringing back Alonso when $30m or a $27m AAV could have gotten the Mets a badly needed TOR for either cash or the equivalent when trading in prospect value, and left them well placed to get a couple of wins at 3B from Acuna-Mauricio-Baty—-that reeked of Cohen diving in at the last minute to play GM. Again.
I’ll be impressed with Stearns’ sang-froid if he gets through all five years of his deal.
Lol, there was no TOR starter available. Burnes was never agreeing to a deal with a team on the east coast and nobody but the Dodgers wanted to give Snell 5 years.
What are we even talking about here?
Read for comprehension, son: “…for either cash or the equivalent when trading in prospect value,”
Life must be very hard for you…. My sympathies.
Wait, so you think Acuna, Mauricio and Baty are getting you a TOR SP in return? Lol, yeah sure.
One of those players is still rehabbing and the other players value is at an all time low. Why would anyone want to give up an asset for those guys.
You are just making nonsense up.
Why the ‘son’ reply?
Because he’s a tough internet guy.
I disagree. The relentless Acuna pub has made him a significant trade piece. Mauricio need only prove he is healed and he’s a fine prospect. Either plus a couple of useful and youthful arms might get you Cease or King or some other TOR guy.
Truth be told, one plus a bucket of Cohen-dollars will get you Montgomery — who was pretty good for the NYY.
For Alonso’s money could have had Jack Flaherty, Detroit’s not on the West Coast and Sunny, and had money left over for OMG.
Kids could have got some more AB’s
But what can I say, were stuck with the Polar Beer.
And Mets still don’t have a TOR arm and a lot of question marks in the rotation, injury and or short sample size; you will pay more dearly for TOR at the deadline in my humble opinion.
Flaherty will get you nowhere.
Detroit has a pitching m coach Flaherty thrived under. He’s likely trying to bolster his value having a 2nd solid season opting out and securing a multi yr deal.
Jose was a 3.1 war in limited time. Gosh and golly G. Jose? What ya say
It’s what happens when a team commits too much money to someone like Jeff McNeil.
That’s not even remotely true. You just lied.
Nick Madrigal….. A more worthless player you will not find. But I guess having 2 first round flops is better than 1 (Baty being the other)
Winker and Marte are both like 0.5% of an OF tho
They don’t have a starting pitcher who doesn’t have major question marks.
For what it’s worth, Iglesias has carved out a darn fine career for someone who supposedly wouldn’t even be able to hit .200 in the majors. Twelve seasons, a .283 batting average, 1,142 hits and an All-Star nod.
The Mariners should 100% try acquire Jose Iglesias as Insurance for the ‘J Polanco at 3B experiment.’ Rotate with R Bliss and D-Mo at 2B and give JP Crawford the odd game off his feet. Theoretically the FO should still have money available since they have yet to spend all of their titanic FA budget fund.
It’s a bloody shame that the Seattle Offseason has come down to this- pleading for the Org to add a 35 yr old journeyman INF who was close to retiring at the start of 2024. Talking myself into liking a player whose reputation of being a good leader in the Clubhouse will help balance the fact that his offense will almost certainly regress closer to his career OPS+ of 88.
I’ll say this though – both Edgar and Dan Wilson would love a veteran INF contact hitter who had the most productive yr of his career in 2024 by hitting more pitches to the Opposite Field. Last yr he increased OPPO% total by roughly 35% over his last 5 seasons. Thats not an insignificant amount
Iglesias won’t play for free, so it’ll never happen.
If we’re to believe the Org when they said $15M would be made available for this Offseason that means $3.75M should still be available.
Btw I just looked at the list of all teams 2025 FA contract values- CLE has spent nearly 5 times what SEA has. Only 5 teams have spent less than SEA. How did we (M’s fans) get here!?
The Mariners operate a little differently than that. Sure, they could sign another utility infielder with an okay bat, but they would rather hang onto that as extra ammo for a midseason trade and get a more impactful player at the deadline. Or, maybe one of their relievers gets hurt 3 weeks from now and then suddenly they have to sign a new one, like they did with Stanek last year.
@ayrbhoy He was returning to the approach that served him well in 2015 (>25% to the opposite field) but then did him in in 2016 (26%) when his BABIP collapsed by 54 points and left him with a 74 OPS+.
That’s when he gave up going oppo until 2024.
He’s enough of a ground ball hitter that he’s very susceptible to luck good and bad playing an outsize role in his results, but he was somehow hitting the ball noticeably harder in 2024 at age 34 when he hit it on the ground, so he seems to have made a fair bit of his own luck. That and the shift ban opened literal doors for him.
With 28.6 fps sprint speed he wouldn’t be a bad bet in 2025 for a team that won’t overuse him and can sit him often againstrighthanders.
The fact that he can’t hit RHPs as well as he does against LHPs makes it harder for the Mariners to justify bending over backwards to get him. Between Polanco, Solano, Bliss, Moore, and Rivas they have plenty of righty/switch hitting bats. If anything, they could use another left handed bat somewhere to balance things out a bit.
OMG!!!
Cobble Hill Rules!
3rd place for my new team. At least it will be familiar ground. The Red Sox have been 3-5 for a long time now.
More like Marte replacing Martinez at DH
Yikes, Jose batted over .350 and i do not know the whole story. He did have a 3.1 war!? Dang!
Surprised Iglesias continues to have trouble getting any sort of contract (and surprised at some of the hate he’s getting on here). Never been awful with the bat, decent D, excellent clubhouse guy. Wouldn’t cost much to add either. Overall better than a lot of middle infield bench options
@manfraud He aimed too high and has Boras as an agent. Some guys get visions of diving into a swimming pool filled with 100 dollar bills when they probably shouldn’t. There were a lot of rumors he was aiming for a multiyear deal, something in the neighborhood of 2/16m.
There’s risk in his profile. I’m surprised he hasn’t been signed, but not surprised that teams aren’t overvaluing him based on a random career year.
Normalize Iglesias’s BABIP to his career number, .315, and you end up with a pretty decent slash line, something like .292/ .336/.395. For a backup IFer, even on a contender, that’s solid.
Regress for age-related decline and you get something like .277/.320/.370. You can live with that if he’s willing to do some drills in your training center to compare his speed and reflexes with the end of last year.
The fact that Iglesias hasn’t signed with anyone else yet, and that we got him on an MILB deal last year, is telling.
Love the guy and his personality to death, but our farm system is higher ranked than a year ago and many more guys are knocking at the door.
Y’all are high if you don’t think this is a significantly better roster vs the one we started with last season. I’m sure everyone here was questioning Severino and Quintana and Iglesias last year.
It’s no guarantee of success – last year we had that magic for the last 4 months and playoffs – but Stearns is doing all the right things IMO and we have a healthy roster, healthy farm system, and flexibility to make in season moves, all while reducing our tax hit.
And if a few guys get hurt in April and he still hasn’t signed elsewhere, I bet we sign him then.