Slimmer Escobar eager for spring
Diamondbacks infielder Eduardo Escobar has lost weight this offseason. That is clear from the workout photos and videos he has posted online in recent weeks. But he is reluctant to say just how many pounds he has dropped — at least until he has a chance to see his teammates in person when spring training begins next month.
“Is it necessary to tell you right now?” Escobar said, laughing, over the phone this week. “I want to surprise everybody over there.”
Escobar’s weight became a topic as he struggled through baseball’s shortened 2020 season. Listed at 210
pounds, he arrived at spring training last year looking like his normal self. But once he returned to camp following the pandemic’s quarantine period, his waistline had ballooned.
It was easy to wonder how much it contributed to Escobar’s struggles at the plate. In 54 games, he hit just .212 with a .605 OPS in 2020; he had hit .270 with an .828 OPS the previous two years.
The way Escobar sees it, his weight was not a factor. He just had a bad year. That sort of thing can happen to anyone; it was just his turn, he said.
So then why drop the weight? Well, for one, he didn’t mean to put on so much in the first place. He said it was just a byproduct of a weird year, the result of having 31⁄2 months away from the ballpark when normally he would be grinding through a season.
“I was still working really, really hard at my house,” Escobar said, “but I was eating too much.”
Moreover, he said he heard from enough people concerned about his weight — including those in the Diamondbacks organization — that he figured trying to shed some pounds would be worth the effort.
“A lot of people told me, ‘Hey, you need to change your body,’” Escobar said. “A lot of people told me something because they wanted to help me be the best I can be. That’s why I was listening.”
Among those to voice displeasure about Escobar’s weight was his manager, Torey Lovullo, who called it a “concern” in September and said he wanted to see it change. Reached this week, Lovullo tried walk back those comments, toeing a line between giving Escobar credit for having dropped weight while saying he was sure Escobar’s production would have improved in a normal season.
“Had he had another 350, 400 atbats,” Lovullo said, “I’m sure those numbers would have leveled out.”
In the fall, Escobar said he drastically changed his diet. He began eating more organic foods, more salad, more vegetables. Before, he had always eaten mostly meat and rice — in part, he said, because he did not like the taste of vegetables.
“I said I didn’t like it because I never really tried it,” said Escobar, who spent the offseason in Miami, Arizona and the Dominican Republic.
Escobar’s diet had revolved so heavily around the Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão that it practically had come to define him. He ate there multiple times a week and said his home runs were a result of “Fogo Power.” Now, he says, he eats there “only” once a week, but he is certain the cutback won’t have any unwanted sideeffects.
“No, this will give me more power,” he said. “I’ll never forget my Fogo Power. My Fogo Power will never change.”
Escobar said he feels like he has more energy. He said he is sleeping better. He said he wishes he had changed his diet years ago.
A more productive Escobar would be a major boon for the Diamondbacks, whose offense sagged for much of last season. Given that he is entering the final year of his contract, a productive year would mean a lot to Escobar personally, as well.
“I want to stay here and retire with the Diamondbacks,” said Escobar, who turned 32 this month. “But now I’m focused on helping my team win. All I can control is to play hard for my team.”