Elly De La Cruz has already made a name with the loud stuff - the power, the cannon arm, the kind of plays that jump off the screen. Tuesday night against the Dodgers, he added something else to the list: pure, ridiculous athleticism.
The key moment came in the eighth inning with one out and a runner on first. Max Muncy sent a slow roller to third baseman Juan Brito, who was shifted toward second base with De La Cruz shaded up the middle. Brito threw to first to get Muncy, but Kyle Tucker kept going around second and saw third base was unoccupied.
De La Cruz read it instantly and took off with Tucker, almost like a receiver staying glued to his man. First baseman Sal Stewart tried to guide him to the bag, but the throw came in a little behind De La Cruz. He reached back to snag it without slowing down, then dove toward third and tagged Tucker just before he got there.
The result was a 5-3-6 double play, and it was made possible by De La Cruz’s instincts and agility. It was only the second 5-3-6 double play turned since the start of the 2024 season. The other came in April of last year, when Anthony Volpe beat Matt Chapman to the bag.
“I wish [pitcher Graham] Ashcraft or [catcher Will] Banfield would have been there but it was an extremely good play," manager Terry Francona said.
The play capped what has been a big week for the 24-year-old, who seems to save some of his best work for the Dodgers. Last week in L.A., De La Cruz uncorked a 102 mph relay throw from the outfield to cut down a potential inside-the-park home run, breaking his own record for the hardest assist tracked by an infielder.
In Other News...
Sal Stewart Just Got A New Rookie Of The Year Threat
The National League Rookie of the Year picture got a lot more interesting this week with the Cardinals activating second baseman JJ Wetherholt from the injured list, putting him back into the race just as the season is heading into its final stretch. For the Reds, that matters because Sal Stewart has been right there among the leagues most talked-about first-year players, and the award conversation now looks like a crowded one with about a week and a half left in the regular season.
Stewart is part of a group that also includes the Mets Nolan McLean and Carson Benge, while Wetherholt brings a different case back into the mix after his time on the shelf. The debate around the race has not just been about who has the biggest traditional numbers, but also who looks strongest in metrics such as WAR, and that split is what makes the closing weeks so intriguing for Cincinnati as Stewart tries to hold off a late push from another top candidate. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Are Back To An Outfield Experiment Fans Know Too Well
The Reds are taking another familiar detour in the outfield, this time with Juan Brito starting in right field against the Dodgers. Brito is mainly a middle infielder, but he does bring some background there from his time in the Guardians system, including a short run of work in right field over the past couple seasons.
It is the kind of move Cincinnati has tried before, with infielders Noelvi Marte and Matt McLain both getting looks in the outfield along the way. Sometimes those experiments have helped patch holes in the lineup, and sometimes they have only underscored how thin the options can get, which is why this latest test is worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Suddenly Face A Bigger Prospect Problem Than Fans Realized
The Reds have spent the better part of the last few years leaning on the idea that the next wave was always close, and for a while the rankings backed that up. From 2022 through mid-2025, Baseball America had Cincinnatis farm system sitting comfortably in the top tier, usually somewhere between seventh and 11th, giving the organization a steady sense that reinforcements were on the way. But the picture changed quickly after the 2025 season, when the system slid to 19th following the graduation of Chase Burns, a reminder that prospect depth can look a lot sturdier before the big names start moving out the door.
What has made the drop more jarring is that the decline did not stop there. By mid-2026, Baseball America had the Reds all the way down to 28th and gave the season a D, reflecting a system that has seen several prospects graduate from prospect status with mixed results and now looks especially thin on pitching depth. For a club that has long counted on its farm to keep the pipeline flowing, the concern is no longer just which prospects arrive next. It is whether there are enough impact arms left in the system to matter. [Read more 🡒]