CINCINNATI – Monday marked what could be the final stretch of Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz's efforts to get back from the injured list.
De La Cruz, who has been on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain since June 1, ran the bases. He is scheduled to do that again on Tuesday.
"I'm getting close," De La Cruz said as he headed to the field to begin his work at Great American Ball Park.
With strength coach Rob Fumagalli supervising, De La Cruz did two circuits running the bases. It was broken up to have him go from home to first base, then first to third and third to the plate. Later, De La Cruz took ground balls and then batting practice with the team.
By this weekend, if there are no setbacks, De La Cruz is expected to begin a Minor League rehab assignment with a yet-to-be-determined affiliate.
“My guess is things will go well because he’s doing so well," manager Terry Francona said. "Then we’ll send him out to play over the weekend.”
The logistics are still being worked out for De La Cruz because all of the club's affiliates are on the road this weekend. Because it's the highest level of competition, the most logical team would be Triple-A Louisville, which is at Gwinnett in suburban Atlanta through Sunday.
De La Cruz, who injured his hamstring running after a hit against the Braves on May 31, was lobbying to skip the rehab assignment and return immediately to the Reds.
"We’ve talked with him several times because the one thing I don’t want him to ever feel is one, that we’re not listening to him, and two, that we don’t want him to play. We’re dying for him to play," Francona said. "I just don’t think you can do what’s right [only] when it’s convenient. That’s the best way. I think down deep, he understands. I just think he wants to play, desperately, and I respect that a lot. He really just wants to play.”
Entering Monday night's game against the Mets, the Reds were 3-9 since De La Cruz went on the IL. They’ve lost 12 of 16 games overall.
De La Cruz, 24, is batting .280 with an .855 OPS, 12 home runs, 37 RBIs and 10 steals in 58 games.
On Friday, a follow-up MRI on De La Cruz showed his hamstring was about 90% healed, and he was cleared to increase the intensity and amount of his workouts.
“He’s done a great job, and he’s working his [butt] off," Francona said. "But he knows where he’s going, why he’s going. You get into a game and [you may] have to go in a different direction. We need to do the right thing. Truthfully, it’s not fun doing the right thing, but it’s the right thing.”