Tigers GM: Jose Iglesias will be ready for spring training

Detroit Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski provided an encouraging update earlier this week on shortstop Jose Iglesias, who missed the entire 2014 season due to stress fractures in both of his shins.

"The doctors tell me he'll be fine," Dombrowski told Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. "He's going to be ready for spring training, he's going to be ready to go, and he's over all of his (injuries)."

Iglesias resumed playing catch and other physical activities roughly one month ago, and Dombrowski indicated the 24-year-old should claim the club's everyday job at shortstop next season, barring a setback in his rehabilitation.

"I would think with what we know from Iglesias, if he returns to the form that he was in the past, which they tell me he will, but if he does, then he would be our regular shortstop because he's a very, very good shortstop," said Dombrowski.

Iglesias, who was traded to the Tigers last July, hit .303/.349/.386 with 21 extra-base hits and five stolen bases in 109 games in 2013, finishing second to only Wil Myers in American League Rookie of the Year voting. Lauded for his defense, Iglesias finished fifth among shortstops in 2013 with an 8.3 UZR/150, a defensive metric that quantifies runs saved and extrapolates over 150 games.

"This guy can really play shortstop," Dombrowski said. "People forget how good he is defensively."