The Cincinnati Reds have already been warned about Elly De La Cruz, and now they’re testing the same dangerous ground again.
De La Cruz exited Sunday night’s win over the Chicago Cubs with left quad tightness, the same issue that bothered him in 2025 and sent him to the IL in 2026. Instead of giving him time to recover, the Reds had him back in the lineup Monday night against the San Diego Padres, this time as the designated hitter. That keeps his bat in the order, but it doesn’t exactly solve the problem.
This is where the organization’s own words come back around on them. Back in December at the MLB winter meetings, manager Terry Francona told MLB.com beat writer Mark Sheldon that he needed to do a better job of building in rest for his star shortstop.
“There were a lot of things going on. I think I need to take responsibility -- and I have, and I will,” Francona told Sheldon. “I need to find ways to get him off his feet from time to time, and I didn't do a very good job of that, and I own up to that.”
That was supposed to be the plan. It just hasn’t played out that way.
De La Cruz did miss time earlier this season, but not as a planned breather. He landed on the injured list with a quad injury. Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall also acknowledged the extent of the issue from 2025, saying on the Reds Hot Stove show in November:
“If you look at his year last year -- and I think a lot of people don't know this -- at the end of the year, like toward the end of July, he was dealing with a partial torn quad”
That makes the current approach hard to defend. Last year, there was at least a case for keeping De La Cruz in the lineup every day because the Reds were fighting for postseason position.
This season is different. With 24 games left and the club sitting in last place in its division, there’s no reason to keep pushing him like this.
De La Cruz clearly wants to play. That part is never in doubt.
But wanting to be out there every day and actually needing to be protected are two different things. The Reds need to be smarter with him over the final stretch, even if that just means rotating in a few DH days and mixing in actual rest.
Shutting him down for the rest of the season isn’t the point. The point is avoiding another injury and making sure he’s in the best possible shape for 2027, whenever that begins. Right now, the Reds are taking a risk they don’t need to take.
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Eugenio Surezs Absence Forced A Reds Infield Change
Eugenio Surez is away from the Reds for the final two games of the series against the Padres, leaving Cincinnati to juggle its infield a little differently while he steps away to take his U.S. citizenship naturalization test. It is the kind of brief but unavoidable absence that forces a roster to absorb the change quickly, and the club answered by bringing up infielder Juan Brito from Triple-A Louisville to add depth.
Terry Francona and Brito both addressed the move, underscoring that the Reds are treating it as a practical roster adjustment rather than anything more disruptive. Still, whenever a regular is pulled out of the lineup for even a short stretch, it creates a small test of flexibility, and Cincinnati will spend the next couple of games sorting out how best to cover the infield until Surez returns. [Read more 🡒]