The New York Yankees missed out on an infielder that could’ve helped their lineup at little to no cost, as FanSided's own Robert Murray reports that veteran Jose Iglesias has signed a Minor League contract with the San Diego Padres. With DJ LeMahieu’s health in question and neither Oswaldo Cabrera nor Oswald Peraza doing a ton to stake a claim to the third-base job in camp, Iglesias would've made plenty of sense for Brian Cashman, at least in a platoon role.
Since 2019, Iglesias has a .298 batting average with a .748 OPS. For comparison, LeMahieu has hit .252 with a .698 OPS since 2021, and those numbers dropped to .204 and .527 in 2024. With the veteran infielder out for at least the start of the 2025 season, Aaron Boone will turn to Cabrera at third. But that choice hamstrings New York in several ways, and it's hard to figure out why they couldn't match this price for a useful player at a position of need.
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Yankees still have a massive hole in their lineup ahead of Opening Day
Cabrera is likely to get the nod at third base on Opening Day. Yankees fans aren’t too hopeful they’ll see significant production from him: Across three seasons in pinstripes, the 26-year-old has a .233 batting average with a .291 on-base percentage. Against right-handers in 2024, Cabrera had some success, hitting .268 with a .729 OPS. Iglesias hits lefties well, and could’ve still given the young infielder the ability to still get at-bats in a platoon situation.
Cashman might want to keep the flexibility to trade for a third baseman around the deadline, or even before camp breaks, but Iglesias wouldn’t have halted that plan. His contract in San Diego could be worth a little over $3 million after incentives. It wouldn’t have cost the Yankees much to solidify third base, or at least raise the floor a bit.
New York’s lineup isn’t what it was in 2024. Although the team added Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt, the loss of Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres hurts. Outside of Aaron Judge, no one in New York's projected lineup has hit over 30 home runs in the previous two seasons. The starting rotation also took a massive hit, with the reigning American League Rookie of the Year Luis Gil out to start 2025 with a shoulder strain.
Besides Jazz Chisholm Jr., Judge, Bellinger, and Goldschmidt, the Yankees offense remains unproven. They’ll be counting on a ton of young players to produce. Adding Iglesias would’ve undoubtedly made them a better team, but now they have to stick with Cabrera as their third baseman to start 2025.