MLB Rumors: New Braves trade buzz, Dodgers deadline priority, potential Red Sox reunion
MLB Rumors: Red Sox could reunite with former IF Jose Iglesias after opt-out
The Boston Red Sox have had a much more difficult time filling the shortstop hole left by Xander Bogaerts’ departure for the beaches of San Diego than expected.
Trevor Story’s injury in the preseason put the Red Sox in a bind right away, but there has also been the failed Kiké Hernandez experiment there in addition to a rotating cast of other players — most hilariously the one game that Bobby Dalbec started up the middle — that have produced middling defensive results.
As of the latest reports about his recovery, it does appear that Story is nearing a return soon. But in the meantime, a true shortstop option familiar with the franchise and Alex Cora is now on the market for what should be an extremely budget-friendly deal.
Jose Iglesias, who started his career with the Red Sox in 2011 and 2012 and more recently played 23 games with Boston in 2021, opted out of his minor-league deal with the San Diego Padres on Monday.
Jose Iglesias has opted out of his deal with the Padres, per source.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) June 20, 2023
Iglesias isn’t a spectacular player by any measure, but he’s long been solid with a career .279 batting average and .701 OPS. More importantly for this iteration of the Red Sox, he’s accrued 4.7 dWAR in his career, including a positive 0.3 last year in Colorado.
Moreover, the 33-year-old still looks to have plenty of life left in baseball. Over 28 games in Triple-A El Paso this season, he posted a .317 average with an .893 OPS. With the upgrade in defense at shortstop while being able to get on base in this surging lineup for Boston, a reunion would make a lot of sense to help fill the rest of the gap until Story returns and then, thereafter, provide necessary depth.