NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Baseball fans know of the young talent up and down the Tides' roster. Now the team has added some veteran presence in the clubhouse as the Orioles look for depth.
One of those veterans is Garrett Cooper, who Baltimore signed as a free agent last week. He was added to the Tides last Wednesday and is looking to make an impression in a hopeful trip back to the majors. One of his big focuses has been finding his swing again.
"Trying to get back to what I've been in my career," Cooper said of his goals in Norfolk. "This season started off really well for me in Chicago and when I got to Boston, I kind of lost sight of my swing as a whole."
"I know he's got a track record, got some significant major league time," added Tides' manager Buck Britton. "We haven't had him long, so it's hard to say the impact that he's going to have, but he's fitting right in."
Cooper began the year with the Cubs before being traded to the Red Sox in late April. He was released by Boston on June 14, before being picked up by the Orioles 11 days later. Now the first baseman looks to regain the form he found during the height of his career. Cooper spent more than five seasons with the Marlins and was an All-Star in 2022.
"You're not going to have the exact same swing every single time," he noted. "Just trying to figure out what worked back then and trying to watch video from the side of how the body worked and rotated and trying to get back to that here."
At 33 years old, Cooper is looking for a comeback later in his career. He's surrounded in the clubhouse by some of the best up-and-coming stars in the game and has been impressed by the group early in his stay.
"You could put all of these guys out on the major league team right now and I'm sure they would succeed," he pointed out. "There's that much talent here and it's kind of an embarrassment of riches for the Orioles to have that many young guys who have shown they're ready for the big leagues."
"With the guys that the organization has brought in, these veteran-type guys, they've really meshed well with our young guys. I think our youth kind of gives you a little jolt of energy when you walk into the clubhouse."
