The Reds entered Tuesday six games back of .500 but only 5.5 games back of the NL Central lead, so they decided to go to Louisville for reinforcements.
Those reinforcements came in the form of 21-year-old top prospect Elly De La Cruz, who has been making an incredible case for himself down in Triple-A Louisville. The switch hitter is batting .297 with an OPS of 1.031, and he hit a scorching .347 with an OPS 1.202 in May.
In other words, keeping De La Cruz down in the minors was no longer serving a purpose. And with the Reds chasing the Pirates, now was the time to bring him up. Nick Senzel going on the 10-day injured list with a right knee injury provided a convenient opening, and the Reds took it.
De La Cruz will join a Cincinnati team that already has a bit of a logjam in the infield, but he is simply too talented to keep down. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote at the end of May what the call-up could mean for Jonathan India, but the reality is positional fluidity is becoming more important in MLB. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jazz Chisholm are converted outfielders, whereas Mookie Betts is sharing time in right field and second base. Whether India stays in the infield or moves to the outfield, the Reds will have a spot for the current face of their franchise.
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With all of that in mind, where does De La Cruz fit into the Reds and what they’re trying to achieve this year? Here’s a look at how things may look moving forward.
What does Elly De La Cruz bring to the Reds?
De La Cruz still has some kinks to iron out in his game. He’s prone to chasing pitches out of the strike zone and he strikes out a bit more than a team would like to see in a star middle infielder.
With that being said, the No. 4 prospect within MLB Pipeline has only improved, and the Reds could use the extra pop in their order.
De La Cruz closed the gap in his strikeout-walk ratio from 18-2 in April to 26-21 in May. He did this while hitting the cover off the ball, with exit velocities reminiscent of Oneil Cruz when the Pirates called him up in 2022.
Between that improvement and the Reds actually being within striking distance of the NL Central, the reasons to hold De La Cruz down were thinner and thinner.
The other, more pragmatic potential reason behind the timing: MLB’s unofficial Super Two deadline — where players can be eligible for arbitration before three seasons of service time — is approaching. Super Two applies to players who are in the top 22 percent of service time among players with two to three years in MLB. Waiting until now for this call-up could keep De La Cruz out of that range.
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Matt McLain and Jonathan India are likely to remain in Cincinnati infield with De La Cruz coming up, while Kevin Newman and the injured Senzel are ushered out. Spencer Steer is likely to continue getting most days at first but can also play left field.
Where the Reds really want impact out of De La Cruz, however, is offensively — both at the plate and on the basepaths.
The Reds are tied for 27th in MLB with 48 home runs so far this year. Only the Nationals and Guardians are below them. De La Cruz will have to turn things around there. Where he’ll complement the Reds’ style, meanwhile, is in the baserunning game. The 6-foot-5 athlete had 11 steals in Triple-A this season, and the Reds are tied for third in baseball with 58 steals thus far.
Where the Reds have De La Cruz hit will depend on where manager David Bell wants to ease him in. Newman generally led off for the Reds, and De La Cruz could take on that role. But it would be a lot of pressure out of the gate.
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Reds lineup with Elly De La Cruz
The Reds’ lineups figure to stay fluid as players come and go and Bell gets a feel for how best to use De La Cruz, but the manager has the rookie batting cleanup in his MLB debut.
Down the line, he could easily be the type of power-hitting speedster batting leadoff cut from the cloth of Ronald Acuña Jr. or Julio Rodriguez, though the Reds mostly batted him second behind Will Benson in Triple-A.
Here’s how Cincinnati’s order shakes out for De La Cruz’s debut:
| Spot | Player | Position |
| 1 | Jack Fraley | RF |
| 2 | Matt McClain | SS |
| 3 | Jonathan India | 2B |
| 4 | Elly De La Cruz | 3B |
| 5 | Spencer Steer | LF |
| 6 | Tyler Stephenson | DH |
| 7 | Kevin Newman | 1B |
| 8 | Stuart Fairchild | CF |
| 9 | Luke Maile | C |
Ultimately, De La Cruz’s call-up makes sense for a Reds team that has found itself right in the thick of things in June. The next step is for him to produce. But there’s a lot to suddenly be excited for this summer in Cincinnati. De La Cruz has shown he has the tools to live up to the hype.
