A FRIEND IN ANY LANGUAGE
THERE’S NOTHING LOST IN TRANSLATION AS ALZOLAY, NOW A FORCE ON THE FIELD, HELPS CUBS’ IMPORTS GET THEIR BEARINGS
MESA, Ariz. — Cubs reliever Adbert Alzolay walked into the clubhouse and spotted starter Shota Imanaga doing an interview at his locker, brow furrowed. He strode over and patted Imanaga on the chest.
“Hey, good job yesterday,” Alzolay said. “You feel good?”
Imanaga nodded, his face brightening. “Good. Nice. Nice,” Alzolay said. “The split — nasty. I love it.”
“Thank you,” Imanaga said.
It was the day after Imanaga’s first springtraining start earlier this month — a solid showing against the Dodgers at Camelback Ranch. In postgame interviews, he had |honed in on ways to improve. Thanks to Alzolay, he hasn’t had to worry as much about other things.
“When I first joined, he was the guy who helped me out,” Imanaga told the Sun-Times through an interpreter. “If I didn’t know where to go or what the schedule for the practice was, he just told me to follow him. So, it’s been great. I really love the guy.”
Alzolay, 29 and with just over three years of major-league service time, has come into his own in the last year — both on the mound and as a leader. Even before new manager Craig Counsell got to know him, he thought he had “true leadership qualities.”
“I probably believe that even stronger now,” Counsell said early in spring training.
He told Alzolay something similar in the first few days of camp.
“That’s huge coming from him,” Alzolay said. “I feel it’s because I’m just trying to pass around what I’ve learned from all the guys that helped me before in this organization.”
Alzolay signed with the Cubs out of Venezuela in November 2012. Bilingual and with a magnetic personality, he spends his offseasons around teammates and minor-leaguers at the Cubs’ Mesa complex, having become a connector in the major-league clubhouse and across the different levels of the farm system.
Right-hander Ben Brown, traded from the Phillies at the deadline in August 2022, is now ranked the Cubs’ No. 11 prospect by MLB Pipeline. He can’t say enough about the offseason influence Alzolay has had on him.
“He’s so impressive, the way that he can communicate,” Brown said. “The way that he gives advice, he’s so mature.”
Before a graduation ceremony Friday for players in the Cubs’ English-language program, Alzolay addressed the group. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy also remembered a presentation on the minor-league side earlier this spring that included a highlight of Single-A Myrtle Beach pitcher Jose Romero closing out a playoff game and giving the same fist pump Alzolay used regularly as the Cubs’ closer last season.
“[Alzolay] has always been a hard worker, consistent worker, smart, intelligent about what he wants to do,” Hottovy said. “And now the success has fallen, and so it’s easy for guys to follow him and easy for guys to learn [from him].”
The energy that goes into Alzolay’s on-field celebrations is softer off the field. But it’s just as infectious.
“And genuine,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “And he does a really nice job of being in touch with guys from all over the locker room. Just the kind of guy that I feel like everyone feels good being around.”
When Alzolay has a break in his schedule, he often can be spotted with the pitching coaches watching his teammates’ bullpen sessions. Depending on the day and time, he might be in uniform, or barefoot after a grounding session.
Early in camp, the Cubs had a microphone on Alzolay as he cheered on Imanaga in the bullpen.
“When you come into a new country, a new team, it’s really hard for you to communicate with everyone else,” Alzolay said. “Trying to make you feel comfortable and feel like you belong here has been our main goal for [Imanaga] this whole spring. . . . We know all the talent he has. So, at this level, it comes [down to] confidence.”
As good as Alzolay is at pitching, he might be even better at instilling that. ✶