Time to Trade Iglesias?

I keep hearing that the Red Sox farm system is stacked. Apparently there are boatloads of players just begging to be brought up to Boston so they can star for years. As luck would have it, a few of these players play shortstop. That could make for some interesting decisions.

As you’re probably well aware, I always advocate trading prospects. I will trade potential for actual talent every single time. So, when I hear that the Sox have a top-rated power hitting shortstop in their system, my mouth waters. The last time the Sox had one of those, they were able to package him in a deal to get an ace pitcher and star third baseman, leading to a World Series title. Perfect. Shop him now. This was especially appetizing because the Sox had another shortstop in their system. He was a no-hit, all-glove prospect. He’d be able to fill the position nicely. It was fantastic.

But, now things have changed slightly. Now the wizard-like fielder has shown the ability to hit. Now, nobody believes that Jose Iglesias is going to be a .400 hitter. Probably even not a .300 hitter. But, he seems to be showing signs that he might not be a .200 hitter either. And, that’s pretty good. A stellar defensive shortstop can work, as long as he’s not an automatic out. If he can hit .250, his defense might be enough to make him a great fit. So, are other teams starting to think Jose can do just that? Suddenly their image of him isn’t of being overmatched by any fastball. The image is of him beating out hit after hit.

Could that make him almost as valuable in the trade market as Xander Bogaerts? After all, Bogaerts is still all potential. We all assume he can hit in the big leagues. We’ve all assumed lots of players could hit in the big leagues. What if he can’t? What if he’s an above average shortstop, who hits 15 home runs? Where does that rank in value compared to a phenomenal defensive shortstop who hits 5 home runs? Maybe the Sox can be win-win with this? Trade Iglesias now, and stick with Drew for the rest of the year until Bogaerts is ready.

It’s also interesting that I’m not sure what is out there on the market. Assuming that Stanton really is staying in Miami…what’s out there that you would want to spend Bogaerts on? Wouldn’t Iglesias be a better fit for a trade?

Say you’re a team with a chip the Sox want. Wouldn’t it be appealing to get a guy who’s only 23, but can apparently be put in the line-up right now? I think that Ben needs to be actively making calls.

After all, the value for Jose Iglesias may never be higher.