Elly De La Cruz left the Reds’ 6-4 win over the Braves today due to what the club described as right hamstring tightness. The star shortstop cracked a line drive to the gap in right-center field during the fifth inning of the game, yet held up at first base in obvious discomfort, and then left the game after a visit from team trainers.
Manager Terry Francona told reporters (including the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Pat Brennan) that De La Cruz will undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the extent of the injury. De La Cruz believes he avoided a serious injury, telling the media via a translator that “when I was making the turn for first, I felt tightness in my hamstring and immediately I decide to stop because I felt like ‘if I keep going, this can get worse.’ ”
The Reds host the Royals for a three-game series that begins on Monday, and then have an off-day on Thursday. If the MRI results don’t show anything serious but De La Cruz is still feeling sore, the Reds could opt to play with a short bench during the Kansas City series in the hopes that four days off would allow De La Cruz to be ready for Friday’s game. Dane Myers‘ status is also a factor since the outfielder has missed the last two games due to illness, so if Myers isn’t feeling better by tomorrow, Cincinnati likely wouldn’t want to play with two players unavailable.
Through 58 games, De La Cruz is on pace for what would be the best yet of his four Major League seasons. De La Cruz had two singles, two runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base in his abbreviated outing today, and he is now hitting .280/.346/.509 with 12 homers over 257 plate appearances. Only six qualified hitters in baseball have more than De La Cruz’s 2.5 fWAR, as he has matched his offensive production with improved glovework at shortstop.
Losing De La Cruz for even a 10-day IL stint would be a tough blow to a top-heavy Reds lineup. Outsized contributions from De La Cruz, Sal Stewart, and (in smaller sample sizes) Nathaniel Lowe and JJ Bleday have helped cover for underwhelming starts from several other Cincinnati batters, not to mention shaky pitching from an injury-ravaged rotation and bullpen.
Matt McLain would likely take over at shortstop in the event of a De La Cruz injury, and highly-touted prospect Edwin Arroyo is on the 40-man roster and could be called up to provide infield depth. Between McLain’s struggles at the plate and Ke’Bryan Hayes‘ injury absence, the Reds’ recent lineups have seen Stewart and Eugenio Suarez split the third base and DH at-bats, Spencer Steer has been getting more time at second base, and the hot-hitting Lowe has gotten an increase in playing time at first base.
