Red Sox Sign Cuban Defensive Whiz Jose Iglesias

Prospecto cubano firma contrato de $8.2 millones con Boston

I don’t speak much Spanish but this sounds like a good thing to me.

Jose Iglesias, who’s listed at 19 years old and is often compared to Ozzie Smith, defected from Cuba last year in Canada during the World Junior Championships. Now he is a Boston Red Sox.

The knock on Igelesias is the bat. Scouts question how much he will hit and whether he will ever hit well-enough to make a major league roster.

Iglesias has a similarly strong tournament record, drawing attention for his flashy glovework at shortstop, with one scout grading his fielding as an 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale. His arm is enough to stick at shortstop, but his range is somewhat limited by his fringe-average speed. Iglesias makes the most of his ability, with instincts that enhance his tools and excellent makeup. He bats from the right side and while his overall offensive package leaves a bit to be desired, most scouts agree Iglesias will hit enough to allow him to profile as a big league regular. He has decent pop in his 5’10 frame, at a maxed-out 180 lbs., though he can get pull-happy at times. An international scouting director called Iglesias’ total package, “Ryan Theriot with better hands.” Iglesias is a defensive-oriented overachiever and executives say he would be more of a 2nd-3rd rounder if eligible for the recent draft. Baseball Prospectus

Iglesias will start out his professional career in High-A ball. Some scouts say his glove is major league ready now.  But if Iglesias cannot hit a lick, then he will need to spend some time in the Red Sox minor league system learning the other side of his game. Iglesias is known to be a free-swinger who does not walk much but the Red Sox value him for his superb defense as evidenced by the $8 million contract.

On the flip-side, Cuba is a little bit pissed off. In August of 2008, when Iglesias defected, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro denounced Iglesias calling him a traitor and accused the United States and Canada of deliberately stealing their players.

After the World Junior Baseball Championship in Edmonton, Iglesias disappeared presumably heading to the US looking for a payday. Castro called the Iglesias-defection a betrayal and referred to Edmonton as a dumping ground questioning whether the World Juniors should even be played there.

“That city (Edmonton) has a privilege of hosting that championship every year. We should analyze whether it is worth attending that tournament.” Castro said.

Cuba is no stranger to people defecting from the iron-fisted rule of their country.

A partial list of Cuban defectors include;

• Jose Igelsias – Defected in 2008 from the World Junior Baseball Championship, Edmonton
• Alexei Ramirez – Defected to the Dominican Republic in September 2007
• Alex Sanchez – Defected in 1994
• Rey Ordoñez – Shortstop defected in 1993 in Buffalo
• Kendry Morales – June 7, 2004 via boat to Miami
• Orlando Hernandez – Defected in boat December 1997
• Livan Hernandez – Defected in Mexico
• Jose Contreras – Defected on October 1, 2002 from the Americas Cup in Mexico
• Barbaro Cañizares – February 2004
• Yuniesky Betancourt – July 2003
• Danys Baez – Pitcher defected at Pan Am Games in 1999
• Rolando Arrojo – Pitcher defected in 1996 just before the Atlanta Olympics

Red Sox (51-34)

Darryl Johnston is the Red Sox correspondent for Fanball.com. He has many years of sports writing under his championship belts. Email him – redsoxdj@gmail.com

Tags: Alex Sanchez, Alexei Ramirez, Barbaro Cañizares, Boston Red Sox, Cuba, Danys Baez, Darryl Johnston, Fanball, Fidel Castro, Jose Contreras, Jose Iglesias, Kendry Morales, Livan Hernandez, Orlando Hernandez, Ozzie Smith, Rey Ordoñez, Rolando Arrojo, Sox Tea Party, World Junior Baseball Championship, Yuniesky Betancourt