Shortstop José Iglesias has triggered an opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Marlins, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). Feinsand adds that Iglesias is returning to free agency, indicating Miami has chosen not to override the opt-out by adding him to the big league roster.
The veteran infielder lingered on the open market for the bulk of the offseason. He caught on with the Fish on a minor league pact during the second week of March. Iglesias collected three hits in 15 at-bats over seven exhibition games. He had a chance to retest free agency a couple weeks later after the Marlins informed him he wouldn’t make the Opening Day roster.
Iglesias passed on the first opt-out and agreed to stick in the organization. He never appeared for Triple-A Jacksonville, though, and he’ll now return to the open market in search of a new opportunity. Iglesias is only a season removed from being a regular shortstop in the major leagues. He played in 118 games and tallied 467 trips to the plate for the Rockies last year, hitting .292/.328/.380 with a meager 12% strikeout rate.
The 33-year-old still brandishes excellent bat-to-ball skills. He’s never been one to take many walks or hit for home run power. Iglesias’ best seasons were built around high batting averages and strong marks for his shortstop defense. Public metrics have soured on his glove since he’s gotten into his 30s. Statcast has pegged him as a league average defender in each of the past two seasons. Defensive Runs Saved, meanwhile, has graded him a staggering 26 runs worse than average at the position since the start of the 2021 campaign.
A team that feels Iglesias is still a viable shortstop defender could have interest in his services. The Dodgers recently lost Miguel Rojas to the injured list and have considered using Mookie Betts at shortstop for the first time in his MLB career. They’d make sense as a speculative fit for Iglesias, who has over 8000 big league innings. Teams like the Reds and A’s have gotten very little out of the position through the season’s first couple weeks.
That’s also true of the Marlins. Miami’s shortstops own a meager .226/.269/.290 line over 67 plate appearances. General manager Kim Ng and her staff nevertheless prefer to stick with their MLB options rather than turning to Iglesias. The Fish have given the bulk of the work there to Jon Berti, with Joey Wendle and Garrett Hampson picking up a few at-bats.
A few minutes later…
Jose Iglesias signs with the Dodgers.
One would think this is inevitable.
To the Texas Rangers.
@Francys01
To the Tigers and DFA Baez.
Not far from reality at all. That contract has not aged well, and we’ve only just begun year 2!
The Tigers are not going to eat the $120+ million he’s owed through 2027….
You know, it’s interesting that Baez and his contract is mentioned again. Yesterday, I tossed the idea out there of a trade of bad contracts with the Marlins – Baez for Avisail Garcia. Of course this may require the Tigers to kick in some money to offset the difference in years and money, but it’d be interesting for both teams. Th Tigers get a guy with less years left, and who is returning to familiar grounds. The Marlins get a guy that, believe it or not, is actually an upgrade at SS from what they have now.
Detroit will never take Avisil García back considering his personal history.
So the Tigers would get an even worse player to save one year off of a contract and kick in $?? Nonetheless giving up a player who has had sustained success at MLB level for a player who has had flashes of being good? As much as Tigers probably want out of Baez’s contract, there is no way they’d make that deal. They’d b stuck with a bad contract of a lousy player at a non premium position.
If he’d take another minors contract, which it seems he won’t.
I hope Bloom signs him again
There was a time when Iggy had a glove that was stickier than Max Scherzers.
The Reds’ hole at SS is now 3-4 years old. Why fix it now? Red Sox make a lot of sense, but if Iglesias has his choice between LAD and BOS, pretty clear which way he’ll go.
Iglesias played his first 2 1/2 seasonsin BOS and played again for them for part of 2021. He very well could feel more comfortable there.
The Reds will probably have Elly De La Cruz playing SS by the end of the year.
They only have 19 shortstops to choose from smd they chose the worst right now. At least Farmer was steady on offense and defense.
Bloom is in love with Yu Chang.
Let’s go Chaim. Definitely better than Chang or arroyo
But not dalbec or Kiki?:D
Fracking LOL! I think it would’ve been better without mentioning Kiki, but the Dalbec remark made me laugh. Still can’t believe he started at SS.
I waffled on inckuding Kiki there Joe, but, simple truth – he hasn’t been good defensively, or offensively in his starts there.
Whatever someone assigns to his versatility for suiting up there, he just wasn’t very good.
Reds will definitely be looking at prospects at SS but Matt McLain may get first shot. McLain is hitting well at AAA and has the bat skills the reds desperately need in there lineup. De La Cruz is a great prospect but hasn’t played yet this season. Will see what De La.Cruz looks like when he returns from injury.
Paul DeJong’s injury may work out perfectly for the Cardinals. As other teams experience injuries, the Cardinals may be able to trade DeJong as soon as he gets healthy and before he has a chance to remind everyone why he’s available in the first place. They’ll just have to eat some money to gain the roster spot.
Iglesias will hook up with someone sooner or later.
This is the one guy that I think can bring all Red Sox fans into agreement. I think Chang is better than what he’s shown, but I’d feel more comfortable seeing Iggy’s name out there everyday. And I think it would give us more flexibility with Arroyo at 2nd. Tapia/Duran in CF, and Kiki rotating thru all 3 positions.
It would be very Twins to rummage through Miamis discard pile for an IF months after trading them their best IF.
With his familiarity with the nl west I’d be surprised if he doesn’t sign with the dodgers.
Thought it was a mistake when the Angels released him, but then, that kind of decision seems to be SOP with the Angels.
So many teams need a SS. Braves, Dodgers, Angels, Red Sox, Rangers and most of the non contenders. List SS who could be available:
Javier Baez
David Fletcher
Jose Iglesias
Brandon Crawford???
Paul DeJong???
Oswald Peraza???
I propose Javier Baez for Gavin Lux.