Detroit Tigers: Who will play shortstop in 2019?

Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias will be eligible for free agency at the end of the season. Do the Tigers have a viable replacement for him?

At the end of last month, it came as somewhat of a surprise that Detroit Tigers longtime shortstop Jose Iglesias was not traded at the non-waiver trade deadline. Iglesias is in his final season of team control, and Tigers GM Al Avila even suggested back in January that Iglesias likely wouldn’t be a part of the team’s longterm plans.

However, Iglesias has now cleared waivers, and it remains a possibility that he could be moved in the final days of August. Even if Iglesias finishes out the year with the Tigers, however, it doesn’t appear to be terribly likely that he will be re-signed. Of course, it could be possible that Avila and the front office have now changed their minds, but there will still be cheaper options at shortstop for the rebuilding Tigers.

Iglesias has never truly been known for his bat, although he was a .300 hitter in both 2013 and 2015. From 2016-17, Iglesias hit .255/.297/.353 and averaged five home runs for those two seasons.

In 2018, Iglesias is, in fact, having one of his better seasons at the plate. Through 123 games, Iglesias is hitting .270/.312/.392 with five homers and 48 RBI. Iglesias’ greatest asset, however, has always been his glove.

With all of the talented shortstops in the game today, Iglesias ranks just ninth in the American League with a 2.6 fWAR. Still, given the sort of impact he can make with his glove, there will likely be teams that are interested in his services this offseason.

Assuming the Tigers decide to move on from the Iglesias era, it should be quite interesting to see how they decide to replace him. Here are a few of the possibilities.