CINCINNATI -- After coming out of Sunday's game early because of tightness in his left quadriceps, Elly De La Cruz was cleared to be in Monday's lineup for the Reds vs. the Padres. However instead of playing his usual shortstop, De La Cruz was the designated hitter for the sixth time this season.
“He’s got a small strain," manager Terry Francona said before Cincinnati's 5-0 loss to San Diego at Great American Ball Park. "Dr. [Tim] Kremchek thinks Elly can play through this, with the caveat that if it gets worse, he’s got to let us know. He kind of has promised he would do that and we’ll keep an eye on him.”
Usual second baseman Matt McLain started at shortstop vs. San Diego, while rookie Edwin Arroyo played second base. De La Cruz went 0-for-2 with two walks in the game. In his first plate appearance during the bottom of the first inning, he just missed hitting a home run when his drive to center field was caught at the back of the warning track in front of the wall. In the bottom of the third, he was called out on strikes.
De La Cruz had to leg out a single on a slow grounder to the shortstop in the fifth inning during Sunday's 7-5 Cincinnati win over the Cubs. In the sixth inning, he committed an error on a routine grounder.
Before the bottom of the seventh inning, De La Cruz was taken out of the game.
De La Cruz, 24, played all 162 games in 2025 despite being hampered for most of the second half by a left quad strain. Francona resisted the urge to rest him because De La Cruz lobbied hard to keep playing.
After De La Cruz missed three weeks in June with a right hamstring strain, Francona has resisted giving him breaks from the lineup because the club's offense has sputtered hitting and scoring behind him and rookie Sal Stewart.
“We’ll do what’s right," Francona noted.
De La Cruz, a two-time All-Star in 2024 and '25, doesn't like being a DH and hates not playing at all even more.
“I think Elly is kind of a throwback," Francona said. "He wants to play every inning of every game. I don’t have a medical degree, but I think he’s kind of different. I think he’s kind of special. Saying that, the fact that he came out yesterday and is willing to DH a little bit, it’s the maturation process.”