FORT MYERS, Fla. -- He wasn't supposed to be in this situation.

Last year? There was a chance Jose Iglesias could have gotten to the final two weeks of spring training in the conversation to be the Red Sox starting shortstop. He did, after all, get to March 27 before the Red Sox chose Mike Aviles to be their guy.

But not this time around.

Yet here we are. Thanks to Stephen Drew's concussion, after four years in professional  baseball, Iglesias might be an Opening Day major leaguer.

Iglesias had gotten his chance to make shortstop an offseason afterthought. He started 20 games in the final month of '12, ending up with a .143 batting average. And if the offensive struggles weren't bad enough, there was that one moment in Toronto that punctuated his lack of career momentum.

With two strikes on Iglesias, then-Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine sent up Daniel Nava to finish off the at-bat. Valentine could spin it his way, and Iglesias might have put on a good face, but the reality was that it was a crossroads.

Fortunately for Iglesias, he seems to have taken the proper path since.

"I don't think that one thing ruined his confidence," Nava said. "If that was the case, he would have never recovered."

Said Iglesias: "I've been through a lot in my life, so not a lot of things can hurt me. I've made some tough decisions in my life. I've left my family. I didn't know when I would see them again. So that's bigger than anything else. So I've been through a lot. I've grown up as a person, as a player and as a human being. It wasn't fun, but I was like, 'OK, that's over,' and move on to the next day."

The resiliency didn't exactly surface overnight. Following the incident in Rogers Centre, Iglesias finished out the season going 6-for-40 with two walks (.209 on-base percentage). The instruction and pleas to embrace the right way of doing things over those final few weeks only amplified.

There was first base coach Alex Ochoa sitting with Iglesias in the Yankee Stadium dugout two days before the end of the '12 season, emphasizing professionalism. Those talks were followed with another round of instruction from bench coach Tim Bogar. Other players joined in, drilling it into Iglesias that it shouldn't matter what stage he finds himself on, the approach should remain the same.

By the end of '12, it was clear that Iglesias hadn't convinced the Red Sox to turn a blind eye toward the free agent shortstop market. That's why Drew was brought in. And, to make matters worse for the young Cuban, there was a growing perception that even if the veteran moved on after one season in Boston, the next in line wouldn't be Iglesias, but shortstop prospect Xander Bogaerts.

Iglesias hadn't failed his big test, it's just that he did nothing to separate himself from the rest of the class.

"I just think with Iggy it's a maturity process," said Red Sox first base coach Arnie Beyeler, who managed Iglesias in Triple-A Pawtucket, where the shortstop finished at .266 with a .624 OPS and 24 stolen bases in 88 games. (He did, however, hit .329 with an .800 OPS in his final Triple-A month.) "The whole experience. We all know he has a lot of ability. He just has to learn how to control things, do what he needs to do and be an everyday professional. Every winter he comes in with a little better attitude and a little more work ethic every year and I think we're seeing more of that this year."

It's impossible to know how much the 23-year-old has changed since leaving the '12 season behind. But we do know there are a few offseason checkpoints that might have led to alterations.

The first came in December, when for the first time in four years Iglesias was reunited with his mother. He had left his family behind in Cuba after defecting as an 18-year-old, eventually getting a chance to be with his father in Miami. But his mom, Barbara, remains a Cuban citizen who can only see her son when the two meet in Mexico.

"Little by little, I've put some things in place," Iglesias said. "I've got my wife. I've got my baby [2 years old]. Little by little I'm making my own family. That's great to have that support when you get home. That's big."

Then there was the get-together with Dustin Pedroia in Arizona.

"I've always been a hard worker. I work hard every day. But I don't think I was doing it the right way," he said. "That's the biggest thing I learned from him. You have to work on what you need to improve on. He would tell me, 'Hey, you don't need to work on your glove. Throw it away. Grab your bat and work on hitting. Physically. Mentally. Work the right way. Do the right exercises and do the right things.' That's what I did this offseason. That was good advice. It was a week, but with Pedey one day is enough. I've learned a lot from him."

So, sure, he put on 10 pounds of muscle, was heartened by the continued stability of his family structure, and, thanks in part to Pedroia, had a better idea of how to be a successful professional. But none of that meant anything unless he offered a new impression on the Red Sox this spring training. So far, so good.

"I think the bottom line is I understand the game better," Iglesias said. "I understand what I need to do better. This is my fourth year, and every year I try and learn something to be in this position. This year I'm going to learn something to be in better position next year. Every year gets better and better.

"I'm always listening to my teammates. I'm always listening to the people who really want to help me. That advice, if it works for me I take it, if not I put it to the side."

And now, thanks to Drew's unfortunate turn of events, Iglesias might be getting that second chance with the Red Sox few saw coming when February rolled around.

"What I've seen is that he's willing to learn a little more, and I think that comes with growing up," Nava said. "I think that's helped him. But as far as in the box goes, he's figuring out the kind of hitter he is. I know from the last two years I've seen him, this year he looks the most comfortable."