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Although there were a number of things that went wrong for the Detroit Tigers last year, there were certainly quite a few positives as well. One major bright spot for the Tigers was the performance of shortstop Jose Iglesias.
Iglesias, who first came to the Tigers in a three-way deal with the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox back in the summer of 2013, missed the entire 2014 campaign with injuries to his shins. His absence was certainly felt that year, and the Tigers were forced to use a combination of Alex Gonzalez, Andrew Romine, Danny Worth, Eugenio Suarez and Hernan Perez to try to fill the void.
Going into last season, most expected that Iglesias would quickly regain his defensive prowess, but questions remained about his bat, even though he hit a combined .303 over 350 at-bats with the Red Sox and Tigers in 2013. He seemed to prove last year that he can indeed be a quality MLB hitter.
Although he didn’t hit for much power, Iglesias batted an even .300 and posted a .347 on-base percentage in an All-Star campaign. As expected, he was also strong on defense, easily passing the eye-test and posting a 3.1 UZR/150. He should certainly possess the ability to post even better defensive metrics as well.
This spring, Iglesias is slashing a cool .375/.423/.458 through 18 games. With opening day right around the corner, it is looking like he is ready to pick up right where he left off.
Understandably, however, some still have questions about Iglesias’ health and durability going forward. He played in only 120 games last year, though part of that can be explained by the fact he missed most of September after being hit on the hand with a pitch. Nevertheless, it would still be great to see Iglesias prove that he is capable of staying healthy for a full season.
If the Tigers are going to rise back to the top of the AL Central this year, it will certainly be easier to do with a healthy Iglesias than without. It should be fun to see what 2016 has in store for the 26-year-old.
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