Jose Iglesias has made no secret that he’s a “big stage” kind of guy. He feels that the constant fire under oneself is just not there down at Triple-A, and he thus has struggled motivating himself to succeed on a daily basis. After tasting the bright lights of the major leagues towards the end of last year, Iglesias has struggled profusely in Pawtucket at the plate this season. Although he has improved his walk rate and power numbers from previous years, his .202/.262/.319 slash line is pretty unimpressive.
May 27, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox short stop Jose Iglesias (10) rounds second base during the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
However, it has taken as little as a flip of the switch (or a call-up to Boston) to get Iglesias locked in at the plate. After Will Middlebrooks went down with injury, the Red Sox were rightfully uncomfortable with playing Pedro Ciriaco (.239/.321/.391, .910 fielding percentage at third base) every day. They called Iglesias to the majors to play a position that he had never really played before, and so far he has excelled. His excellent talent at shortstop has stayed with him as he has moved across the diamond to third and, although he’s yet to play in a game there, at second.
Not only is he a considerably better defender than Pedro Ciriaco at both positions with UZR’s of 0 to -1.9 at third base and 0.8 to -4.3 at shortstop. He has also shockingly also hit a ton since being promoted to the major leagues. After hitting his first home run of the season last night, his slash line stands at .434/.456/.585 in his two stints and 16 games with the team.
It makes no sense to ruin Iglesias’s confidence further by sending him back down to Pawtucket. He is excelling in the majors and Pedro Ciriaco. The Red Sox need to make the same statement as they did when they named Jackie Bradley Jr. their opening day left fielder: the best player wins the job. It didn’t work out in that case, but so far it is working out in this case. If Jose Iglesias hits half of what he is doing now and continues to play good defense, he is a better utility infielder than Pedro Ciriaco, so it wouldn’t make sense not to keep him on board.