Rays’ Paredes can finally just be himself
DUNEDIN — Isaac Paredes was known as a pretty quiet, shy player when he was in the Tigers and Cubs organizations. The 24-year-old, however, said after he was traded to the Rays from Detroit last spring, he finally felt like he could open up a little bit and be himself. After all, it is hard to be quiet with teammates such as Randy Arozarena always making him laugh.
Paredes almost felt like a kid again playing the game.
“It just lets me be me. It lets me have fun, and be the player that I was when I was young,” Paredes said via interpreter Manny Navarro. “It takes away from the pressure.”
And it allowed Paredes to become the player who surprised baseball last season. He came out of nowhere to hit 20 home runs after connecting for two total previously in his major-league career.
“He made the most out of the opportunity,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We were banged up and we needed him to come in. He just started hitting and we needed some offense.”
“I do think there was some comfort to the environment, maybe getting around a little bit younger core group where he was similar to a lot of the people,” Cash continued. “His teammates that he was playing with day to day were young and they were kind of all pushing in the same direction. Not so established. And, I mean, he really made the most of that opportunity.”
Paredes singled, drove in a run, drew a walk and struck out in the Rays’ 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays at TD Ballpark on Friday. He comes into this spring more openminded to what the Rays are suggesting. He credits his teammates, who have helped loosen him up a little bit, and the coaches who have helped him grow as a player.
“Coming here last year was a lot more closed-minded. I didn’t really know anyone, didn’t really know the way this team operated. So I think with a year [experience], it’s given me the confidence to be able to be myself,” Paredes said. “I want to be a little bit better as a teammate.”
Paredes, who was signed by the Cubs as a 16-year-old out of his native Mexico, came to the Rays as a young player whose defense they valued. That played out as planned as he finished in the 90th percentile in outs above average, according to Baseball Savant. He surprised the Rays, however, with a career-high .740 OPS.
He certainly shocked the Yankees on June 21 when he hit a career-high three homers against them in a 5-4 Rays win.
“It’s always nerve-wracking when it’s a team like that. It’s a very popular team; everyone knows [the Yankees] internationally,” he said. “So it was very good to have that game, especially with that the dynamic of both teams.
“And I would say, up to this point, it’s probably the best game I’ve ever had in my life.”
Paredes very carefully qualified that statement to include “up to this point,” in his career because he now feels confident that he still has growing to do.
“Definitely with my defense, I wanted to work on that a little bit [this winter],” Paredes said. “I would also say that I strike out too much. I think I want to definitely reduce that. And just all the work I do with the cages. I’ve been asking a lot more questions to try to just find a way to get better with those guys and learn from anything they give me.”
And he feels comfortable learning here with a group that makes him laugh and allows him to just be himself.
“It takes the pressure out of everything,” Paredes said of the loose atmosphere around the Rays. “It allows you to develop a little bit better, to learn a little bit easier. That’s the most important thing. It’s just being comfortable and you can learn.”