» Tad Iguchi At 3rd Base; If With Phillies, Rule Relief Needed from MLB

Tad Iguchi At 3rd Base; If With Phillies, Rule Relief Needed from MLB

Todd Zolecki has a interesting, but short post on The Zo Zone about Tadahito Iguchi and the Phillies.

You remember Iguchi? Regular 2nd baseman and All Star Chase Utley went down in July for a month with an injury. The Phillies obtained Iguchi in a trade and barely missed a beat in the batting order. In retrospect, Iguchi’s performance in August was key to the Philies’ September charge to the Division championship. Without him, once Utley goes down, the Phils are out of the race and there is no September run.

In mid-November, this blog cited a MLB.com report that the Phillies released Iguchi after;

The Phillies approached Iguchi about playing third base, but the player told the Phillies he’d prefer to stay at second.

Now, according to Zolecki;

The Phillies want Tadahito Iguchi at third base next season. Iguchi wants to be at third base … for the most part.

Zolecki notes that the team met with Iguchi’s agent, Rocky Hall during the GM meetings this week and Hall and Iguchi are interested in a long-term deal with the Phils. Zolecki reports;

Hall said that Iguchi’s interest in the Phillies was genuine and that they were the front-runners to acquire him. They aren’t just kicking the tires.

The Phillies released Iguchi after the season. According to baseball rules, Iguchi cannot re-sign with the Phillies until May 15. Iguchi won’t re-sign with the Phils unless he can secure a waiver from the commissioner’s office that allows him to rejoin the team immediately.

Hall said those odds were 50-50, although two baseball officials sounded less optimistic..

“Because he’s a veteran player coming over from Japan, that might be able to take place,” Hall said. “I haven’t had a player like this, but it has happened before.”

If the Phillies, Hall and MLB can get a waiver through, Iguchi would solve a big problem at 3rd base. It is by no means sure, but let’s hope so. I, for one, would love to see him in the lineup.

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