Daily Red Sox Links: Boston won the Jose Iglesias trade

Jose Iglesias was once a fairly solid prospect for the Boston Red Sox. He made his MLB debut at the age of 21 in 2011 when he was heralded as a slick fielder at shortstop, a position the Red Sox had struggled to find a permanent fixture at ever since trading away Nomar Garciaparra.

Iglesias only played in 35 games during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, but became more of a regular in 2013. During the 63 games he played for the Red Sox that season, he hit .303 and posted an OPS+ of 101. He also continued to be a strong fielder and this was all during just his age-23 season. However, the Sox weren’t ready to anoint him the heir to the shortstop throne. Plus, with some need for starting pitching depth, they made a major deal, sending Iglesias off to the Detroit Tigers in order to facilitate a deal for Jake Peavy.

Peavy and Iglesias’ eventual replacement at short, Xander Bogaerts, helped the 2013 Sox go on to win the World Series, and that included winning the ALCS against the very Tigers to whom Iglesias had been traded. So, in the short term, the deal was a success.

In 2014, things looked a little shakier, as Bogaerts slashed .240/.297/.362 and at times looked overmatched. Additionally, Jake Peavy was no longer as effective, with an ERA+ of 84 and a 1-9 record in 20 starts for Boston before he was traded to the San Francisco Giants. Iglesias did not play in 2014 due to an injury, but he came back in 2015 to hit .300 and make his first All-Star appearance, all while being just three years older than Bogaerts. However, Bogaerts became the player he is today that year, slashing .320/.355/.421 with 81 RBI and an OPS+ of 107.

Since the 2015 season began, Bogaerts has made an All-Star appearance of his own and slashed .295/.351/.433 with a wRC+ of 110. He has been worth 14.6 fWAR as well. In that same time, Iglesias has a slash line of .267/.312/.360 with a wRC+ of 80 while being worth 6.5 fWAR.

Last night, in the first meeting between the Red Sox and Tigers this season, Bogaerts hit his ninth home run of the season while Iglesias went 0-for-3 in a 6-0 win for Boston.

For a brief moment, trading Iglesias looked like a bit of a long term mistake, even if the immediate result after the deal helped spark a World Series run. However, as time has passed, the deal has looked like more and more of a slam dunk for the Sox, as it gave them a half season of solid Peavy and, most importantly, opened the way for Bogaerts.

Power seems to be the asset the Red Sox are acquiring in the draft. (Matthew Kory; The Athletic) ($$)

Drew Pomeranz is DL bound. (Jason Mastrodonato; Boston Herald)

Dustin Pedroia is still dealing with injury issues as well. (Peter Abraham; Boston Globe)

Tyler Thornburg is headed in the opposite direction. (Christopher Smith; MassLive)

Depth in the rotation is something the Red Sox need and they got some last night. (Jen McCaffrey; The Athletic) ($$)

Durbin Feltman, whom the Red Sox drafted in the third round, isn’t as far from the majors as other draft picks. (Alex Speier; Boston Globe)