Is it time for José Iglesias to play every day?

The Mets clinch a series victory vs the Nationals with a 6-2 win. Plus, an appreciation of the team's unexpected spark plug José Iglesias.

Rich MacLeod

Jul 11, 2024

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

The Mets rallied to defeat the Nationals by a 6-2 score on Wednesday night (box)
LF Brandon Nimmo homered for the third straight game for the first time in his major league career
RHP Luis Severino had a bounce-back performance, allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts over 6.1 innings pitched
SS José Iglesias contributed at the plate once again, going 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored
3B Mark Vientos went 2-for-3 with two doubles, an RBI, a walk and a run scored
LHPs Jake Diekman and Danny Young, along with RHP José Buttó combined to pitch 2.2 innings of scoreless relief
New York is now 7-2 against the Nationals this season, are 18-8 over their last 26 games and have pulled to within a half-game of the third Wild Card spot in the National League

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Playoff Race 🏁

The Mets trail the Padres by 0.5 games for the final Wild Card spot with 71 games to play. Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 39.6 percent chance of making the postseason in 2024. They have the fourth-easiest schedule in MLB the rest of the way.

Tiebreakers:

vs. ATL: 3-3
vs. AZ: 2-2
vs. STL: 3-2
vs. SD: 3-0
vs. SF: 2-4 (finished)
vs. PIT: 5-2 (finished)

Injury Updates 🏥

RHP Reed Garrett was placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation – Garrett has a 7.94 ERA since May 22nd and leads all Mets relief pitchers in innings this season

Roster Moves 🗞️

RHP Phil Maton activated
RHP Reed Garrett placed on 15-day injured list
LHP Danny Young recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Eric Orze optioned to Triple-A Syracuse

Who’s Hot 🔥

Over his last 23 games, Brandon Nimmo is hitting .348/.437/.719 with nine home runs, six doubles, 27 RBI, 12 walks, three stolen bases, 25 runs scored and a 1.156 OPS

Down on the Farm 🌾

LF Ryan Clifford (No. 4 prospect, Double-A): 3-for-5, 2 HR (12), 2B, 6 RBI, 2 runs scored
CF Alex Ramírez (No. 16 prospect, Double-A): 3-for-5, HR (4), SB (28), 3 runs scored

BOX SCORES

Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR (PPD)

Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (46-45) vs. Nationals (42-51)

Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY

Starters: LHP David Peterson (3-0, 3.58 ERA) vs. LHP Mackenzie Gore (6-7, 3.83 ERA)

When: 1:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY, MLB Network

The ballad of José Iglesias ✍️

In Wednesday night’s 6-2 win over the Nationals, we continued to see the amazin’ value that José Iglesias has brought to the Mets in such a short time.

On the night, Iglesias went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored. One of those runs scored on an incredible hustle play by the infielder when the Nationals were unable to turn a double play and he beat the subsequent throw to home plate, and he showed off that hustle again later in the game by motoring to second base on a hit off of the first baseman’s glove.

Iglesias also continued to be an absolute maestro in clutch situations, as the veteran is now hitting an outrageous .529 (10-for-19) with runners in scoring position this season.

Even in today’s age with so many different statistics and analytics, it is nearly impossible to quantify what Iglesias has meant to this club in 2024. It’s unbelievable to think this guy wasn’t even on the major league roster for the first two months of the season…

Since his contract was selected from Triple-A Syracuse on May 31st, the Mets have gone 23-12 – the most wins by any team in Major League Baseball during that time. Over those 35 games, New York has dug themselves out of a hole that saw them at 11 games under .500 with their season looking as if it were in the dust pan of history. Now, as of Thursday morning, the club is one game over the .500 mark and just a half-game behind the Padres for the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League.

Whether it’s been his steady play in the field, headiness on the base paths, or unexpected prowess at the plate – the veteran infielder is now hitting .338/.373/.465 this season – Iglesias has been an unbelievable contributor.

And that doesn’t even touch on the sheer amount of vibes that this man has brought to this club. Prior to his arrival, the Mets looked like a dead team walking with a lot of people feeling sorry for themselves and not a good story to be found. Since then, though, there has been an incredible amount of fun narratives with this team between the players only meeting, Grimace, the “Gay Mets,” and, of course, Iglesias’ song that became a rallying cry for the club and led to an on-field concert a couple weeks ago, “OMG.”

With Iglesias’ overall massive impact to this club in nearly every facet, along with the continued struggles of Jeff McNeil — who is now hitting just .216/.274/.311 after a disappointing 2023 season — the question is being asked more and more if it’s time for Iglesias to become the every day starter at second base.

It’s certainly a fair question, with Iglesias’ performance being so high juxtaposed next to a scuffling McNeil who doesn’t seem any closer to finding his way out of the darkness. There is an interesting counter-point, however.

Is part of the reason that Iglesias has been so incredibly successful to this point that the Mets have not over-exposed him outside of a platoon role? Iglesias has had solid seasons at the plate in the past, but has never been known as an above-average hitter with a .703 OPS and 89 OPS+ over the course of his major league career. And while he did deliver the go-ahead two-run single vs a right-hander, Iglesias’ OPS vs righties this season was over 300 points lower than against lefties entering last night.

All things considered, it could actually be more beneficial for the Mets to continue to not over-expose Iglesias and continue to put him in a position to succeed as they have been doing so far this season. That being said, it’s becoming more and more clear that McNeil is likely not the left-handed answer to that second base platoon, either.

Perhaps Brett Baty will get a shot to split that role with Iglesias in the second half of the season if he continues to get reps and succeed in Triple-A, or maybe the club could even look to bring in a left-handed hitting infielder to platoon with Iglesias.

No matter how you look at it, there’s no doubting the impact that José Iglesias has brought to the Mets in so many ways this season. Weirdly enough, perhaps the best way for them to get the most out of him is to keep picking-and-choosing their spots.

Or hell, maybe Iglesias is just gonna hit over .300 for the entire season. Stranger things have happened, I suppose…

Around the League 🚩

The Mariners knocked off the Padres, 2-0, behind six shutout innings by RHP Bryce Miller
The Cardinals were swept in a double-header by the Royals, losing by scores of 8-5 and 6-4
Astros LHP Framber Valdez struck out 10 batters as Houston won their 8th consecutive home game, beating the Marlins 9-1
Cubs LHP Shoto Imanaga threw six shutout innings as Chicago blanked the Orioles in a 4-0 win
The Yankees survived a pitcher’s duel in Tampa Bay, outlasting the Rays by a 2-1 score