Two former Angels played integral roles in sending the Mets to the NLCS

Somewhere, members of the 2021 Angels are smiling.

Baseball was truly beautiful in Queens, NY on October 9th, 2024. After Francisco Lindor propelled the Mets to a 4-1, NLDS-clinching, upset victory with a grand slam off Carlos Estévez, Lindor and Brandon Nimmo were in tears postgame. Mets fans stayed for hours after the game ended, as they had never seen their team clinch a playoff series at Citi Field.

Lindor was an MVP caliber player in 2024, but he had some help. Help from a couple of guys named Jose and José.

Quintana and Iglesias were acquired by Perry Minasian before the 2021 season, Iglesias via trade and Quintana via free agency. Minasian waived both players later in the season, as they were both in the midst of the worst years of their careers. Of 13 qualified Angels pitchers in 2021, Quintana's 1.781 WHIP was the worst mark on the team, as well as his 11.1 H/9, ERA+, and W-L% (0-3 record). His -0.9 bWAR is the worst mark of his career. Iglesias' -9.7 offensive fWAR ranked 23rd of 26 Angels' position players in 2021. His -1.1 2021 bWAR is also the worst mark of his career. Both players looked like they were on the tail ends of their careers.

Flash forward to 2024. The Mets have used 4 starters during their playoff run, one of them being Kodai Senga for 2 innings, and Quintana is one of them. He has yet to let up an earned run in 11 innings pitched, and his 0.82 WHIP is the third best mark on the team (trailing only relievers Reed Garrett and Ryne Stanek). Iglesias is switching between second and third base, and is a cornerstone of their incredible defense. He has yet to make an error in the playoffs. While his offensive numbers are tepid, at best, he is a spark plug for this lineup with his hustle on the base paths. He also led the Mets in batting average during the regular season, hitting .337 during his 85 games.

Quintana's season is relatively believable, despite fans not trusting Quintana in these big games he's pitching in. Quintana does not strike fear in the heart of opposing batters or fanbases, but he has been absolutely dominant since the beginning of September. Iglesias, on the other hand, was out of the league last season after playing 118 games for the irrelevant 2022 Rockies.

Angels fans are happy for the two players, but cannot help but reevaluate their own team's ability to find players on the margins. Quintana signed a 2 year, $26 million deal with the Mets before the 2023 season, and Angels fans would love to have a pitcher outperform his multi-year contract figure for once. Position player wise, the Angels have long tried to acquire a player in Iglesias' mold for years now. A cheap, available player who can revitalize a locker room with his defense and hustle. Perry Minasian is tasked with reshaping the Angels' roster heading into 2025, and he could use a couple booms à la Iglesias and Quintana for this iteration of the Mets.

Kudos, fellas.