IGLESIAS MAKING QUICK IMPACT ON RED SOX

By Tim Scott

The Red Sox have had a problem the last five years: the need to find a good, quality shortstop. Ever since Nomar Garciaparra was traded to the Cubs, the Red Sox have never seen a quality shortstop. Aside from Orlando Cabrera (2004), the legitimacy of the shortstop has not been solid. Edgar Renteria turned out to be a bust (30 errors in 2005), Alex Gonzalez had two stints, doing decent there, and the nightmare Julio Lugo still gives me horror today.

Currently, the Red Sox have two candidates to help solidify the depth in the position. First is recent free agent signing Marco Scutaro, who is 34 now, and might be ditched by the Red Sox in two years. The other is a young, 20-year old kid from Cuba who is waiting to strike like lightning.

His name: Jose Iglesias. He may not have made an appearance in spring ball, but he is expected to wow the scouts. Signed for $6,000,000 in September 2009, this excellent fielder has qualities that molds his ability similar to Cabrera.

Discovered after hitting .322 with Havana’s baseball team in 2009, scouts fell in love with his fielding and hitting style. With a little speck of time left in the minor league season, the Red Sox held off on assigning him to a team, and placed him with a few other players in the AFL.

With Mesa, Iglesias hit .275 with 2 HR and 12 RBI. He also received an opportunity to play in the Rising Stars game, where he went 0-2. It was in the AFL where other scouts really realized that this youngster could be a difference maker.

Right now, Iglesias is savoring his opportunities in Spring Training. In Grapefruit League competition, the shortstop is hitting .286 (2-7) with a home run and 3 RBI (all against the St. Louis Cardinals, and off of Eduardo Sanchez).

Currently, Iglesias is on pace to make the 25-man roster in late 2011. By that time, Scutaro will be 36, and manager Terry Francona should look to start him often.