Jorge Merlos found his calling interpreting for the Cincinnati Reds

More than a quarter of all Major League Baseball (MLB) players arrive in the United States from Spanish-speaking countries.

Imagine coming to America to play a professional sport with minimal experience speaking the English language. You are expected to understand every meeting, practice and event you attend.

The Cincinnati Reds’ interpreter Jorge Merlos works with the team’s three Spanish-speaking players on its active roster to help these players communicate at practice and press conferences.

Merlos grew up in New York and lived with his grandmother, who refused to speak to him in English, requiring him to become bilingual at an early age. He translated for his family at doctor’s appointments and grocery stores.

After graduating from Ithaca College with a degree in sports media in 2015, he accepted an outreach internship with the Reds Community Fund. While working on the nonprofit side of the organization, he was promoted to translator.

Today, Merlos travels like any regular player, staying in hotels with the team and attending every event where he might be needed. He describes this as one of the hardest parts of his job.

“This job is definitely a grind with 162 games a year,” Merlos said. “Being in hotels just for half the year is difficult, but it’s a privilege to do that because not everyone is able to.”

He said player relationships are one of the biggest aspects of his job, and he looks to build trust with every player he translates for.

“I don’t try to treat them any differently,” Merlos said. “You’re there to help them out, not just with the translating, but to make them be as close as they can be, to normalcy.”

The Miami University Spanish department hosted Merlos as part of a lecture series for one of its classes on Feb. 4. He spoke in Spanish to more than one hundred Miami students and discussed how his language skills have helped him in his career, interpreting for high-profile players like Elly De La Cruz and Alexis Diaz.

De La Cruz is one of the most famous players Merlos has worked with. The shortstop from the Dominican Republic signed with the Reds as a free agent at the age of 17.

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In 2023, he played in his first MLB game, making his rookie debut at 21. De La Cruz is the youngest player ever to complete a cycle, doing so just under three weeks into his professional career.

High-profile players are just another part of the job for MLB translators, but they can also present unique challenges and opportunities. Merlos discussed this perception and what it’s like to work with the most famous players.

“Obviously, there are a lot of people who want to talk with those high level players, like the Elly De La Cruzes of the world,” Merlos said. “For them, I try to keep it as normal as they are. They’re just all baseball players, and they’re all humans as well.”

One of Merlos’ biggest challenges as an interpreter has been understanding the cultural and linguistic differences among players from different backgrounds. He keeps a large spreadsheet detailing different slang terms and which countries or regions tend to use them.

He stays up to date with the terms his players use, which helps him build relationships with players and keep interviews as transparent and honest as possible.

“It's really listening to them attentively and asking them questions afterwards,” Merlos said. “I think because these guys are coming from different places, from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, I've had to learn over time that some words don't mean the same thing.”

Merlos prepares for his fifth year with the Reds as a translator ahead of the season-opener on March 27. In a league where one in four players speak Spanish as their first language, the importance of translator’s in the MLB continues to grow.

rosente2@miamioh.edu