The Los Angeles Angels acquired shortstop Jose Iglesias of La Habana, Cuba on Wednesday from the Baltimore Orioles in a trade according to Rogers Sportsnet. In return, the Orioles received minor league right-handed pitchers Garrett Stallings and Jean Pinto.
The Angels become Iglesias’s fifth Major League Baseball team. In addition to the Orioles, he has played for the Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, and Detroit Tigers.
In 2020, Iglesias was simply put, outstanding. He would have received All-Star consideration, if there had been a Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Unfortunately, there was not one from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In 39 games and 150 plate appearances, Iglesias batted .373 with three home runs and 24 runs batted in. He also scored 16 runs, and had 53 hits, 17 doubles, three walks, a .400 on base percentage, .556 slugging percentage, 79 total bases. four times was hit by a pitch, and one sacrifice fly.
Even though Iglesias had career highs in batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage, he did not qualify for the batting title in the junior circuit because he did not have the minimum number of plate appearances of 186. Iglesias’s plate appearance total was only 150, due to separate injuries to his wrist, ankle, and quadriceps. New York Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu won the American League batting title with a batting average of .364 in 216 plate appearances.
Iglesias was an All-Star back in 2015 with the Tigers. That year he batted .300, with two home runs and 23 runs batted in. Throughout his career, Iglesias has always been known as a contact hitter with a lack of power. He has only had 35 home runs in nine Major League seasons, but does have 582 career singles and a respectable batting average of .278.
Known for his outstanding defense at one of the most challenging positions to play in Major League Baseball in shortstop, Iglesias only had one error in 2020, and has a career fielding percentage of .985. The fact that the Angels acquired Iglesias would also seem to think they are moving on from shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who is currently an unrestricted free agent.
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