Jose Iglesias, Tigers reach $1.65 million deal

Iglesias, 24, is not yet eligible for arbitration -- and won’t be for another two years -- but still needed a new contract from the Tigers for 2014. Typically pre-arbitration players are signed for a little over the minimum given they have little say over a deal when they are still under team control. There can be some wiggle room, but the choice for a player is, for all intents and purposes, either take the contract or don’t play that season.

At the plate, Iglesias has his question marks. He surprised in 63 games with the Red Sox last year as he hit .303/.349/.386, but fell back to a .259/.306/.348 line with the Tigers and finished the season with a 735 OPS. His batting line, particularly in Boston, was mostly held up by a high batting average on balls in play, which indicates he may have been getting lucky. In 294 career minor league games, he posted a 622 OPS.

While he may not be much of an asset at the plate, Iglesias is arguably already the best defensive shortstop in the league right up with Andrelton Simmons. Iglesias made numerous top-10 lists with his glove-work while being a steady hand up the middle of the field.

The Tigers will still have control over Iglesias through the 2018 season, though he won’t hit arbitration until 2016.

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