Philadelphia Phillies: Top 4 remaining free agent shortstops ranked
By Tim Boyle
3) Philadelphia Phillies shortstop candidate: Jose Iglesias
Only a few months younger than Simmons, Jose Iglesias is another shortstop whose big league reputation has been focused far more heavily on his glove than his bat. However, in parts of 10 big league seasons, Iglesias has actually hit .277/.318/.382; albeit very lightly with only 44 career home runs in 3576 trips to the plate.
Iglesias’ resume includes an All-Star selection in 2015 and three seasons of batting over .300—one of which occurred in the shortened 2020 campaign.
More recently, Iglesias hit .271/.309/.391 with 9 home runs last season with the Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox. He was actually quite beastly for the latter, hitting .356/.406/.508 in his 64 games for Boston.
Maybe not as well-known as Simmons or nearly as skilled on defense, I like him for the Phillies because of the upgrade he provides them in the field over Gregorius and his ability to put the ball in play. Throughout his career, he has averaged only 74 strikeouts per 162 games. The Phillies could use a guy like this on the team. Again, it’s even better if they can get him at a fair price and use those savings to upgrade elsewhere.
Iglesias won’t win his way into our hearts with his bat. If that’s what the Phillies are looking for, they have two other guys they can turn to.