Every day, Eloy Jiménez walks on the team bus and acknowledges every single person he walks by, dapping up players and coaches as he makes his way to his seat.
When he gets to the clubhouse, he brings with him a burst of energy as he gets ready for the game. There’s dancing and singing, his signature smile. He keeps the vibes up during the game too, saying “hi” to his mom whenever he’s on camera, walking around the dugout saying “vamos, vamos” and even waving himself home on plays, drawing laughter from his teammates in the dugout as they watch him try to hustle.
The Orioles needed a spark. And the 27-year-old Jiménez, who needed a fresh start, has tried to be the person to light it.
“He’s always talking, that’s good because it’s always a good vibe,” right fielder Anthony Santander said. “His personality, he’s bringing a lot of energy. It’s so fun for us. He’s always keeping us awake.”
This is not the same Jiménez the White Sox had earlier this year, the one who was hitting .240 with five home runs as injuries piled up. That one had less motivation, he said, because he wasn’t a part of a winning club.
“It is really hard because at the end of the day you don’t want to lose,” Jiménez said of his time with the White Sox. “It was hard. Even when we were winning we felt like we were losing.”
But this version of Jiménez — the one who is not only having fun again but also performing — is the one Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and major league field coordinator and catching instructor Tim Cossins knew they could bring out of him. After all, they’ve known him since he was just a teenager in the Cubs organization.
Bringing Jiménez over at the trade deadline was an easy, and cheap, gamble for the Orioles to make — the White Sox are paying the majority of Jiménez’s salary for the rest of the season, and received minor league reliever Trey McGough in return. It turns out all Jiménez needed to get back on track was a reunion with two coaches he sees as father figures, and to get out of a team that is pace to have one of the worst seasons in MLB history.
As he faces his old team at Camden Yards this week, Jiménez is hitting .295 with the Orioles.
“You know that talented players are going to get through different things,” Cossins said. “We knew that he would and we were hoping that it would happen here — and thus far it has. He’s played really well. He fits in great.”
When Jiménez first met Hyde and Cossins, he was a 16-year-old arriving in Arizona from the Dominican Republic to begin his professional career in the United States. He barely spoke English, didn’t understand what the schedule was, and didn’t even know what a farm director — Hyde’s position at the time — did.
But Hyde and Cossins were patient with him. They taught him how to manage his schedule and helped him improve as a player. They also gave him important lessons on controlling his emotions. One day, in an instructional league game, the umpire called a strike that should have been a ball. Jiménez was upset, so mad that he broke his bat with his leg as he sulked back to the dugout.
Hyde and Cossins took him aside. Jiménez doesn’t remember the specifics of what they said, but that talk, he said, changed how he handled himself on the field.
“I liked that, I respected that,” Jiménez said. “I will [always] be grateful for that with Hyde. And Cossins, too — they both did me good when I was a kid.”
Jiménez was traded to the White Sox organization in 2017, and by the time he made it to the majors in 2019, Hyde and Cossins were already in Baltimore. But they kept tabs on him in Chicago, watching proudly as he hit 31 home runs in his rookie season, earning him a a six-year, $43 million contract extension. In 2020, during the pandemic-shortened season, Jiménez won a Silver Slugger Award.
But his career didn’t take off from there as expected. Injuries hit him hard — a ruptured left pectoral tendon in 2021, a hamstring strain in 2022, an appendectomy in 2023, plus another hamstring strain and a left adductor strain this year.
The Orioles knew he was beat up when they acquired him, and that he likely would not be healthy enough to play in the field this season. But they are encouraged by his progress so far and his renewed focus on getting himself in shape.
Jiménez has taken to following around Santander, who for years also dealt with injuries. Santander has homed in on his preparation, recovery and diet, helping him stay on the field this season and hit a career-high 39 home runs.
Jiménez will replicate the exercises and procedures that Santander does.
“I just guide him with my routine, to help him prepare his body to be able to go out there and compete,” Santander said. “He’s been consistent in doing that.”
Jiménez has been clear from the time of the trade that he thinks he just needed a fresh start somewhere else. That’s proven to be true — he’s not only hitting better, but also starting to get healthier. His running has improved, and he hit his first home run with the Orioles on Saturday.
And now, Jiménez has a chance to go to the playoffs with the same two coaches who helped shape his career.
“He’s really excited to be here,” Hyde said. “You see the energy he brings every single day. … Sometimes to get out of a situation, to get into a winning atmosphere, a winning club, hopefully that gives the guy a boost. I think it’s been helpful for Eloy.”
