Cincinnati Reds: José Iglesias could make the All-Star team as a reserve

The Cincinnati Reds have virtually no shot to put any starters onto the NL All-Star roster. However, there’s a chance that José Iglesias could still make the cut as reserve.

Only one player on the entire Cincinnati Reds roster is in contention to make the NL All-Star team. While it hasn’t been a banner year for the Reds, there’s a few players who could merit an opportunity to play the Midsummer Classic in Cleveland. However, only José Iglesias is among those players who could make the cut, and it’ll likely have to be as a reserve.

Iglesias is trailing Chicago Cubs’ Javier Baez for the NL lead as the team’s starting shortstop by over 1.5 million votes and the third place vote-getter, Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers is outpacing Iglesias by 360,403 votes. The Top 3 finishers at each position make it to “The Starters Election”.

The National League will have 26 spots to fill once the starting eight position players are voted on. The Player Ballot, managers, and fans all have a say in who makes it as a reserve for the All-Star Game. The Player Ballots will fill 16 positions and then the NL manager will select 5 pitchers and 4 position players to help fill out the roster.

With the season that we’ve seen from José Iglesias, both on the field defensively and at the dish, he’s more than deserving of a spot on the National League All-Star roster. Iglesias is hitting .289 with 4 home runs and 24 RBIs. Iglesias also has 11 doubles on the season and a .413 slugging percentage.

Iglesias has been to an All-Star Game previously. Back in 2015, when the Midsummer Classic was held at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Iglesias was part of the American League All-Star team as a member of the Detroit Tigers.

José Iglesias is more than deserving of a spot in the MLB All-Star Game. While other National League shortstops such as Dansby Swanson, Jean Segura, and Trevor Story are deserving as well, I’d put Iglesias’ defense above anyone else that plays his position. But, I’m a little biased.

Every major league team will be represented by at least one player and I think it’s safe to say that pitcher Luis Castillo will make the NL roster. While Eugenio Suárez is sure to get some consideration as well, there are several other players at his position that will likely beat out last year’s All-Star reserve at third base.

Here’s hoping that José Iglesias gets an opportunity to represent the Cincinnati Reds at the 90th annual MLB All-Star Game which is to be hold at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on July 9th. It’s amazing that a player signed to a minor league deal in the offseason is on the cusp of making the NL All-Star roster.