Iglesias shows former teammates some glove
Jose Iglesias reminded the Red Sox what they’re missing in the sixth inning yesterday. With Shane Victorino breaking for second on a hit-and-run, Dustin Pedroia grounded sharply up the middle. Breaking for the bag, Iglesias fielded the ball to the right of second, pirouetted, tagged Victorino and flicked to first for the double play.
“Wow,” was the collective reaction in the park, but it’s nothing the Red Sox hadn’t seen many times before.
“I’ve played with him for long enough that you know that’s what he’s capable of,” said Red Sox outfielder Daniel Nava. “That’s what he’s known for. It’s not like I expected anything different. If he messed those plays up, I would’ve been surprised.”
Iglesias made his return to Boston in Detroit’s 3-0 victory, and the Red Sox know what they surrendered.
“I don’t know that anybody in this organization has ever seen a better defender at the position,” saluted Sox manager John Farrell before the game. “That’s a pretty strong statement for a guy who’s in the early stages of what should be a long career.”
That career looked to be taking off with the Sox until the three-way July 30 trade with the White Sox that sent Iglesias to Detroit and brought right-hander Jake Peavy to Boston.
Since then, it’s been a win for all parties involved, with Peavy going 3-1 in his first six starts here, and Iglesias doing exactly what the Tigers needed, solidifying their defense at shortstop while continuing to hit enough not to be a liability at the bottom of the order.
“He’s very gifted,” said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. “He’s very competitive and very instinctive. We were lucky to get somebody like that when we were in dire need of somebody.”
The Tigers had a need when shortstop Jhonny Peralta was suspended for 50 games in the wake of the Biogenesis scandal. As good as Peralta was offensively — he blasted a walkoff homer against Andrew Bailey and the Red Sox in June — he was mediocre defensively on a left side of the infield that also included relatively immobile MVP Miguel Cabrera at third.
“Clearly he’s improved their defense with his range,” Farrell said. “He’s going to make all the routine plays. He’s going to make the well-above-average play. For the time, particularly this year, he was a good offensive player. We didn’t necessarily want to trade him, but it seemed to be a good fit for all three teams involved, just a very good baseball trade when you consider all parties involved.”
Iglesias has no ill will toward the Red Sox.
“I love those guys over there,” he said. “It’s nothing personal. It’s a business at the end of the day, but it was fun to come today here and get the W.”