Marlins Free Agency Watch: Several Infielders Still Available

Jose Iglesias 1.5 WAR

Jose Iglesias, who turns 30-years-old later this week, is a five-foot-11, 194 lb. right-handed hitter from La Habana, Cuba. After making his major league debut in 2011 with the Boston Red Sox, he spent five+ seasons for the Detroit Tigers, making the American League All Star team in 2015.

2019 would see Iglesias play in the National League for the first time, appearing in a career-high 146 contests for the Cincinnati Reds. His career slashline of .273/.315/.371 implies that maybe he could discover a little more patience at the plate by drawing a few more walks, and with 32 career home runs he’s probably not going to get confused for a power hitter at any point of his career. Despite that, he’s in good although not-quite-elite company with his very good strikeout rate of 13.2 percent.

But as a shortstop, Iglesias is an elite defender, worth eight DRS above the N.L. average in 2019. He’s also appeared in 37 contests at third base and three times at second base. If the Marlins were to acquire him, they would be tempted to move Rojas to second to make room for Iglesias.