Jose Iglesias, the Red Sox' shortstop of the future, has finally been given his chance to show what he's made of, as the Red Sox called him up straight from Triple-A Pawtucket. Iglesias will be active and on the bench for Boston's game against the Minnesota Twins on Mother's Day.
Iglesias was brought up to add depth to the lineup while backup shortstop Marco Scutaro, who was placed on the DL, is dealing with a left-side injury and fellow Triple-A shortstop Yamaico Navarro is recovering from an oblique strain suffered on Tuesday.
In 2010, Iglesias is batting .253 with a .278 OBP and a .531 OPS in Pawtucket, but has not had an extra base hit this season. Despite his struggles, Iglesias was the best option for Boston because he was the only minor league infielder on the 40-man roster.
Iglesias' defensive capabilities are not in question, as he has proven to be a stellar defender, but he has yet to establish success at the plate.
"We all understand he could play defense in the big leagues tomorrow, but he's still young," PawSox manager Arnie Beyeler (who managed Iglesias last year in Pawtucket) said prior to the season. "He just needs to play. It's tough to be patient with a kid like him who has so much ability. It will really be interesting to see how it plays out. The longer we can keep him down and let him develop, the better player he's going to be when he gets up there. But he's going to be a good player." (via WEEI)