Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias left Sunday’s game against the Royals in the sixth inning, being pinch hit for by Andrew Romine. Iglesias left the game with left groin tightness, and is considered day-to-day at this point according to MLB.com beat writer Jason Beck.
It is a bit concerning because Iglesias has had a history with shin injuries and missed all of last season after he had stress fractures in both shins. He also played some of 2013 with shin splints. Hopefully, he does not prove to be injury prone.
A loss of Iglesias for any period of time would be a blow for the Tigers, as he not only plays with tons of energy and brings flashiness to his shortstop position that has not been seen in years, but his bat has also perked up in 2015, as he has hit .351 with a homer and 3 RBIs from the nine hole. He has been the best number nine hitter in baseball thus far too. His .398 OBP, 146 OPS+, and 0.8WAR in just 24 games so far.
If Iglesias is hurt to the point he would require a DL trip, which seems a bit unlikely, the Tigers would likely have to platoon Hernan Perez and Andrew Romine at the shortstop position, both of whom haven’t played much outside of being defensive replacements or the rare start to give Iglesias or Nick Castellanos a breather. One other option would be Tigers shortstop prospect Dixon Machado, who is regarded for his good defense and has had his bat perk up over the last calendar year. He’s currently hitting .303/.357/.360 in 89 at-bats in triple-A Toledo.
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