However, if you were expecting the 22-year-old shortstop to feel down about about his Triple-A assignment, you would very much be mistaken.
Iglesias was all smiles as he took the field for the Pawtucket Red Sox media day at McCoy Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. The star prospect is enthusiastic about the Pawsox Opening Day Thursday night against the Buffalo Bison.
"It's Opening Night, it's exciting no matter where you are," said Iglesias. "It's fun."
Iglesias was in the running to become the starting shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, before the big club eventually decided on Mike Aviles. Even though Iglesias didn't win the starting job for Boston, he still had a great spring training with the Red Sox players.
The Cuban native learned a lot from some of the biggest names on the big league ball club.
"We have great personalities in this organization," said Iglesias. "I mean [Dustin] Pedroia, Adrian [Gonzalez], David [Ortiz], it's amazing how they help the young players."
Iglesias also gave a lot of credit to Bobby Valentine for his assistance during his development.
"I learned a lot from Bobby," said Iglesias. "He's an amazing person. He's full of energy and he's always on the field. I really like it."
While Iglesias begins his season in Pawtucket, the shortstop will be doing his work to prepare himself for a possible call-up. Iglesias said he will be working on staying healthy and be on the field every day, while making sure he gets quality work when he steps up to the plate.
Iglesias' offensive development will be key, as he tries to make his way to Boston. Iglesias batted just .200 with five RBIs in nine spring training games this year.
Despite the debate as to whether Iglesias should be the starting shortstop for Boston, Pawtucket manager Arnie Beyeler figures that the conversation ended with his designation to the minors.
"There's a lot he needs to work on or else he wouldn't be back here, he would be the starting shortstop in the big leagues," said Beyeler. "He's a very gifted kid and he's going to be a real good player when he gets up there, gets comfortable and stays."
Beyeler also sees Iglesias' need to improve at the plate.
"He's got to work on his hitting," said Beyeler. "He doesn't have a lot of at-bats, he needs some repetition and that doesn't mean he's not a good hitter, it just means he needs to continue to work and get better so when he gets up there he can stay and be a contributor."
So for the time being, Iglesias will stay in Rhode Island and work to refine his game. But the shortstop is excited to begin another season in Pawtucket, and will wait for the day where he will be able to become the major league star that many expect him to be.
