Detroit Tigers: Exploring a Jose Iglesias to LA trade

Iggy’s fit in LA

Compared to Andrus and Machado, Iglesias would cost the Dodgers much less – both financially and in prospect capital.

He also wouldn’t be as good.

Iggy isn’t helping his trade market out much this year, slashing an ugly .220/.258/.308 with six doubles and four stolen bases. His defense has looked excellent as always. Still, it may be hard to convince the Dodgers to buy a guy who has hit .252 with a 71 OPS+ since 2016.

Plus, while Iggy’s contract isn’t nearly as big as Andrus’ or Machado’s, he’s still getting paid $6.275 million this season. The Dodgers certainly aren’t going to give up prospects AND pay $6 million for an underperforming Iglesias. Especially not if they think Chris Taylor can handle the position, or are willing to pony up for Machado or Andrus.

However, it’s at least possible to envision a situation where the Dodgers decide to keep Taylor in center field and don’t want to jump over the salary cap. That would make Iglesias attractive to them, especially for his defense. The Dodgers have a strong lineup, so maybe they’d be willing to take on a guy like Iggy. He could hit ninth, right behind the pitcher, and focus on being an elite fielder. LA could survive with his below average offense if their other hitters perform like they are capable of.

So if it comes down to that, are there any ‘diamond in the rough’ prospects that the Tigers could try to acquire from LA?