Ex-Red Sox Continues To Get Slighted In Free Agency Despite Strong 2022 Season

One of the top middle infielders on the market has Boston ties

Scott Neville | Mar 3, 2023

Ex-Red Sox Continues To Get Slighted In Free Agency Despite Strong 2022 Season /

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Boston Red Sox

With spring training well underway the free-agent class has become an afterthought.

That said, one former member of the Boston Red Sox did more than enough last season to warrant a spot on a major league roster. The latest report adds even more confusion to the situation.

"(Colorado) Rockies second baseman Brendan Rodgers is thought likely to need shoulder surgery, which would likely cost him the season," The New York Post's Jon Heyman wrote Thursday. "But interestingly, the Rockies seem uninterested in bringing back José Iglesias."

Iglesias hit .292 with 33 extra-base hits including three home runs, 47 RBIs and a .708 OPS in 118 games with the Rockies last season. He also ranked in the 98th percentile in chase rate and 95th percentile in strikeout rate -- with just 56 K's in 467 plate appearances.

The 33-year-old has been reduced to a league-average defender but is more than capable of being a productive player this season.

The Rockies' lack of interest in Iglesias is strange, as was the Red Sox's after the departure of shortstop Xander Bogaerts and unexpected offseason surgery to Trevor Story.

Boston handed out multiple minor-league deals to veterans with shots to make the roster -- Jorge Alfaro, Raimel Tapia and Niko Goodum to name a few. They also gave a 40-man spot to a far-less proven middle infielder, Yu Chang.

Yet Iglesias, who was a productive Major League Baseball player last season, remains unsigned.

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Published Mar 3, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu