Detroit Tigers: Possible Jose Iglesias Trade Destinations

As part of the Detroit Tigers’ rebuild, shortstop Jose Iglesias is an offseason trade piece the Motor City Bengals would surely like to deal. If they can pull it off, where might he land?

The market for shortstops this offseason is not very great. So, in the Detroit Tigers‘ quest to trade Jose Iglesias, they may find lots of roadblocks.

The 2018 campaign is the final year of his contract with the Tigers. This makes him someone they would benefit from trading. The question is whether they can find a team with the need for a light-hitting shortstop whose defensive abilities aren’t nearly as Gold Glove worthy as they were early on.

Over the years, Iglesias has offered the Tigers some relatively productive seasons. Defense is his specialty, but in 2015 he did show off how well he could hit. Iglesias batted .300 during that campaign and even made it onto the American League All-Star roster. He has since fallen back down to earth with two straight years of batting .255. This is a more typical batting average everyone should expect from Iglesias.

One stride Iglesias did make in 2017 was a boost in power numbers. He hit a career-best six home runs and added another high with 33 doubles. Due to other offensive lapses in the lineup, Iglesias had the opportunity to drive in 54 runs. His previous best was only 32.

Any team looking at Iglesias is doing so with the understanding that he is probably going to bat eighth or ninth in the lineup. The only real benefit is that he has the experience and won’t be an automatic out. If he’s able to put together another season like he did in 2015, there’s always a chance to re-sign him. After all, Iglesias turns 28 in January and any of these teams could decide to keep him for the long haul.