GLENDALE, Ariz. — Manager Pedro Grifol was going to give Eloy Jimenez a day to gather and regroup after returning from the World Baseball Classic.
But there was Jimenez, two days after the Dominican Republic was ousted by Puerto Rico, ready to work with coach Daryl Boston in the morning and in the lineup at designated hitter batting fourth against a Cubs split squad in the afternoon.
“Because I want to get ready for the season,” Jimenez said Friday morning. “We are here, why not?”
Jimenez’ intentions for getting back in there and bearing down fall in line with the mindset he brought to camp four weeks ago, 25 pounds lighter and determined to stay healthy and produce much more than last season, when he hit .295/.358/.500 with 16 homers in 84 games.
That wasn’t much more than half a season, and it came a year after he hit only 10 homers in 55 games.
With Andrew Benintendi signed in the offseason to play left field, Jimenez was penciled in at the top of the Sox’ DH depth chart, a role he’s digging in against. Manager Pedro Grifol is allowing him the chance to show what he can do, and Jimenez is bent on proving he belongs in right field on occasion, his defensive deficiencies notwithstanding.
“I give Eloy a lot of credit,” said Boston, who works with outfielders. “He’s saying all the right things, and he’s not just saying he doesn’t want to be a DH, he’as coming out every morning. Even mornings when I’m not expecting him, he’s searching me out to make sure we do early work.”
On Friday, “he showed up and was like, ‘C’mon let’s go.’ Let’s get some work in,’ ’’ Boston said.
Boston said Jimenez is moving better this spring.
“Even his turns at first base, his intensity,” Boston said. “In the outfield, he’s always caught what he got to but it seems like his first-step quickness has improved. He seems to be grasping right field.”
Despite the quick ousting for the Dominican, considered by many as the WBC favorite going in, Jimenez said he will never forget the experience. Big, intense, “crazy” crowds and playing for his country made it impossible for him to compare to postseason and Cubs experiences, he said.
Jimenez was 5-for-11 with two doubles and two RBI in WBC pool play at Miami.
“I will never forget it, but not the result I wanted,” he said. “Now we’re here, getting ready for the season and that’s the most important thing.”
The Sox are still without shortstop Tim Anderson, starting pitcher Lance Lynn and reliever Kendall Graveman from Team USA, reliever Jose Ruiz from Venezuela and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and third baseman Yoan Moncada from Cuba. As a whole, Sox players have performed well. Anderson is 4-for-11 with a double, triple and four RBI, Lynn pitched five innings of one-run ball in his start, Graveman has pitched 11⁄3 scoreless innings, Ruiz hasn’t allowed a run in two relief appearances, Moncada is 8-for-19 with a homer and five RBI and Robert is 5-for-22 with a double and four RBI.
Jimenez is the first to return.
“He had a great experience down there,” Grifol said. “He wants to get ready for the season. I was going to give him a day off and he was like ‘I want to play.’ So all right, let’s play.”
