{"id":914416,"date":"2026-09-29T19:18:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T19:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/914416\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T19:18:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T19:18:15","slug":"would-jose-iglesias-ever-return-to-the-mlb-yes-with-1-condition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/914416\/","title":{"rendered":"Would Jose Iglesias Ever Return to the MLB? Yes, With 1 Condition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although MLB player Jose Iglesias may have stepped away from baseball, he isn\u2019t completely ruling out a return to the diamond. <\/p>\n

During his recent appearance on Craig Melvin\u2019s \u201cGlass Half Full\u201d <\/a>podcast, Iglesias was asked if he would ever consider playing baseball again if the opportunity arose. Iglesias last played in September 2025 for the Padres but has not formally retired from the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that phone rings, and it\u2019s not Broadway and it\u2019s MLB, I\u2019ll be there because I feel good,\u201d Iglesias told Craig.<\/p>\n

Iglesias, 36, made his MLB debut in 2011 and became a free agent after the 2025 season. He\u2019s most recently pivoted to Broadway, debuting in \u201cBuena Vista Social Club\u201d in August 2026.<\/p>\n

\"JoseFormer New York Mets player Jose “Candelita” Iglesias makes his Broadway debut in “Buena Vista Social Club” Aug. 27.Bruce Glikas \/ Bruce Glikas\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

While Iglesias said he would play in the MLB, he had one caveat. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have to have a personal feeling for the team,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m in that state of my life where (it\u2019s) not just to play, but to play for something.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then named the two teams that already meet that: the New York Mets and the San Diego Padres.<\/p>\n

Iglesias played for the New York Mets during the team\u2019s 2024 Cinderella season<\/a>, which culminated in a playoff run to the National League Championship. The Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, just missing a World Series appearance.<\/p>\n

Iglesias was a fan favorite during the 2024 season after releasing the song \u201cOMG\u201d under his stage name Candelita. In addition to serving as his walk-up song, \u201cOMG\u201d became the team\u2019s unofficial anthem that season. <\/p>\n

The Mets did not resign Iglesias for the 2025 season, and he signed with the Padres.<\/p>\n

Iglesias said both the Mets and Padres \u201copened the door\u201d for him when he thought his career was ending, \u201cso I have to show loyalty for both of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny of those organizations would be a privilege, would be an honor,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd obviously, I hope it\u2019s the Mets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just made a lot of people very happy,\u201d Craig said.<\/p>\n

He then offered Iglesias the hypothetical choice between another Broadway appearance and playing for the Mets.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what? That will be an easy answer,\u201d Iglesias said. \u201cNew York Mets all day long.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Although MLB player Jose Iglesias may have stepped away from baseball, he isn\u2019t completely ruling out a return…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":914417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-914416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=914416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/914417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=914416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=914416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=914416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}