Tigers’ Jose Iglesias leaves spring training game with neck injury

Spring training has been nothing but insult for the Detroit Tigers so far. Today, they added an injury. Shortstop Jose Iglesias left Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies after a collision at home plate in the first inning. Iglesias took a knee in the face when sliding, but left the game under his own power. After being evaluated by head athletic trainer Kevin Rand, Iglesias was pronounced day-to-day with a neck contusion.

The injury adds yet another layer of frustration to an already taxing spring. They have lost five consecutive games — six if you include a split-squad loss last Wednesday — and the few position battles available have been lackluster at best. Manager Brad Ausmus has already called out his pitching staff, which has been a major problem so far.

While Iglesias’ injury does not appear to be serious, it has to be frustrating for the 27-year-old shortstop. He missed the entire 2014 season with bilateral stress fractures in his shins, and has missed time for various injuries and ailments over the past two seasons. Iglesias enjoyed his most valuable season to date in 2016, with 1.8 rWAR in 137 games, but most of that value was built on stronger defensive metrics; He hit just .255/.306/.336 in 513 plate appearances last season.