Non-roster invitations generally fall into one of two larger buckets: prospects and veteran players. José Iglesias falls into the veteran bucket and is a great name to remember if you do the Immaculate Grid daily.
Iglesias was signed by the Red Sox in 2009 and would make his major league debut for the Red Sox at just 21 years old in 2011. In 2013, he was part of a three-team trade that sent him to the Tigers. During his time as a Tiger, he lined up against Francisco Lindor and Cleveland a lot, which led to the story SNY shared during the first broadcast of the year of Iglesias and Lindor admiring each other’s defense.
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
At the end of 2018, Iglesias became a free agent, and that’s when his traveling journey started. He signed as a free agent with the Reds, then with the Orioles. The Orioles then traded him to the Angels, who released him. He signed with the Red Sox, the Rockies, the Marlins, and the Padres (twice in the same season), and now he’s with the Mets.
The one-time All-Star is known for his defense but hasn’t been terrible as a hitter. 2022 was the last time he played in the majors and hit .292/.328/.380 over 118 games for the Rockies with a 91 OPS+. During the 2022 season, he was in the 98th percentile for whiff% and 79th for xBA (but only in the 12th percentile for xwOBA). Even though he is a defense-first player, his defense wasn’t tremendously noteworthy, according to Baseball Savant in 2022. He was in the 46th percentile for range (outs above average) and 35th for arm strength.
Iglesias has had some good seasons in the past. In 2020, he was in the 90th percentile for outs above average and the 91st percentile for xwOBA. He provides the Mets with the depth they need in the middle infield. Compared to the other non-roster invitees, Iglesias has an excellent chance to play himself onto the 40-man roster and into a bench position with a strong spring.
