Yankees' final free agent infield dream dies with latest Padres signing

It's official. The New York Yankees will not be able to capture the 2024 Mets' magic in the upcoming season (in one specific way).

In the final roster blow that we all knew was coming, but didn't want to admit during the intervening lull, free agent infielder Jose Iglesias has agreed to a contract with the San Diego Padres, per FanSided's MLB insider Robert Murray.

Iglesias professed throughout the offseason that he'd love to return to the New York Mets, but that bridge appeared to be burned by Mets management months ago. Despite inspiring the "OMG" celebration that helped fuel an underdog run to the NLCS, the veteran infielder didn't quite have the same sway as Pete Alonso. Try as he might, he couldn't get David Stearns and Steve Cohen to a private meeting to hammer out a deal.

And so the Padres will benefit from the 35-year-old spark plug who posted a 137 (!!!) OPS+ last season, while the Yankees either stick with their internal infield options (Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza) or pull off a last-second trade.

Yankees News: Padres sign Jose Iglesias as NYY's infield depth chart remains unsettled

It was less than 48 hours ago that Joel Sherman covered how "lucky" the Yankees were that Iglesias was still available, coming off a season where he was integral to their crosstown rivals. Unfortunately, even with the infielder in desperation mode, the Yankees still preferred to squeeze as much juice possible out of Peraza, who is out of minor-league options and must be either carried on the Opening Day roster or DFA'd.

Either they've seen enough to get behind him this spring (he's received the second-most at-bats on the team in spring training action), or they really are as "out of loot" as has been reported in recent weeks.

While last-minute trades like Nolan Arenado, Luis Rengifo, Luis Arraez and Willi Castro are still technically on the table (and might've been hinted at by Aaron Boone recently), adding Iglesias would've allowed the Yankees to stick to a short-term commitment without surrendering any non-monetary assets. We knew this was coming, but it's still a downer.