Slick-fielding free agent could provide bridge to Padres' prospect Leodalis De Vries

As things currently stand, the San Diego Padres are firmly in the middle of their latest contention window. The club has a few different holes around their roster heading into 2025, including catcher, left field and a spot or two in the starting rotation.

While their Arráez-Cronenworth-Bogaerts-Machado infield doesn't immediately need an upgrade, there's room for a backup infielder on this 26-man roster. Tyler Wade and the Padres avoided arbitration, but he's about as light of a hitter as utilitymen come, so the Padres could look to the free agent market if they're going to target more offense.

The Padres' shortstop of the future is obviously Leodalis De Vries, who's still only 18 years old but widely expected to be the next big thing in San Diego's infield. Until he arrives sometime in the next few years, the Padres could use a top backup infielder to bridge the gap.

Enter Jose Iglesias.

The Padres have a clear bridge to Leodalis De Vries on the free agent market

Iglesias, 34, is no longer a clear-cut everyday infielder, but he looked incredible in an 85-game showing for the Mets this past season. Historically a light-hitting player, the 12-year veteran recorded 21 extra-base hits with 26 RBI, a .337 average and 137 OPS+ through 270 at-bats.

The Mets leaned on the player-turned-pop-star quite a bit down the stretch and he continued to provide as the year marched on. He began to steal playing time from Jeff McNeil for a while there, and he could potentially do the same for someone like Jake Cronenworth if he continues to provide a so-so bat like he has for the past few years.

Iglesias is also versatile, which is something the Padres don't have much of on their big league roster. He can bounce around all over the infield while the vast majority of San Diego's infielders are either tied down to one position or are poor defenders at the few spots they regularly play.

With a need for a backup infielder to bridge the gap for up-and-coming prospects, the Padres could absolutely give Iglesias a low-cost, single-year deal with a club option for a second if things end up working out. Since he's on the wrong side of 30 and is nothing more than a frequently used bench pece, Iglesias shouldn't cost much.