Detroit Tigers Top 10 Shortstops in franchise history

Jose Iglesias

Detroit Tigers: 2013-2017

Jose Iglesias managed to squeeze his way onto this list, although another year or two in Detroit could make his stay more comfortable.

The Tigers acquired Iglesias at the 2013 trade deadline in a three-team trade with the White Sox and Red Sox. Iggy took over as the teams starting shortstop after Jhonny Peralta was suspended 50 games for PEDs.

Iglesias hit .259 down the stretch but was a wizard on defense. He made some eye-popping plays in the regular season and into the playoffs. He was so good in fact that the Tigers shifted Peralta to left field when he returned to the team during the postseason.

Peralta signed with the Cardinals in the offseason and the shortstop position belonged to Iglesias.

Unfortunately, a serious knee injury cropped up and shelved Iglesias for the entire 2014 season. No matter, as Iggy came back as an All-Star in 2015. He hit .300/.347/.370 with 11 stolen bases and a 1.5 bWAR.

His performance dipped at the plate in 2016. He slashed .255/.306/.336 with four home runs and seven stolen bases. His 2017 was nearly identical.

With the Tigers undergoing a rebuilding period, many thought Iglesias was on his way out. Indeed General Manager Al Avila made it pretty clear that Iglesias is not a part of the team’s future. Whether he gets moved at the 2018 trade deadline or hangs on for 2019 remains to be seen.

However, even if Iglesias never plays another game in the Old English D he has cemented himself at the tail end of the greatest shortstops in team history.