David Stearns all but confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that Jose Iglesias will not be returning to the Mets in 2025, as one of the faces of the 2024 run will not be in Queens to try and finish the job and get to a World Series.
It was a bit of news that hit Boomer and Gio hard as Mets fans, particularly Boomer, who believed there was room for Iglesias even if Stearns’ motivation is to get younger players like Luisangel Acuna more of a look.
“I feel bad that he’s not coming back. I kind of don’t understand it,” Boomer said. “It’s interesting that it had to happen this way.
“He came through in so many different ways, and he was a big part of the turnaround. I wanted Jose back, but I understand you can’t bring everyone back. I think David Stearns is trying to run this team without too much fan engagement.”
Iglesias wasn’t just a culture guy who spawned the identity of last year’s team with his hit song “OMG.” He also had his best season since his All-Star campaign in 2015, though he began to sputter in the postseason. But his season as a whole made him a steal by Stearns, though now the team president of baseball operations believes it’s time to make way for some of the prospects that are ready to contribute to the big-league club.
“He just is not attached, which is a good thing for a general manager,” Gio said. “He held his ground on Pete Alonso, and now Jose Iglesias isn’t gonna be here.
“To expect him to have that kind of season again, it probably wasn’t going to happen.”