CINCINNATI -- While the grieving continues for Elly De La Cruz over the passing of his older sister following a prolonged illness, the superstar shortstop will continue playing for at least the next three days.
Reds manager Terry Francona announced before Monday’s series opener against the Brewers at Great American Ball Park that the plan is for De La Cruz to play through Wednesday’s afternoon finale against Milwaukee and then go home to the Dominican Republic to be with family and mourn the passing of Genelis De La Cruz Sanchez.
Francona said he and bench coach Freddie Benavides had an extended conversation with De La Cruz on Sunday in Chicago to discuss options, and De La Cruz expressed his desire to keep playing through Wednesday.
“Freddie and I sat with him for a while [Sunday] and asked him what he wanted to do, and then he said he was gonna play, leave after Wednesday and go home,” Francona said Monday. “And then we just kind of said, ‘Hey, OK, that's great, but if you want to go now …’ And then I just said, ‘How's your mom doing?’ And he said, ‘Well, that's probably the hardest one.’
“So I know he spent some time talking to her, and I think for a little while that he was going to go [home on Sunday], and then after talking, I guess to her, he decided he's still going to go after the game Wednesday.”
The MLB bereavement list allows for players to leave their teams for between three to seven days and allows for teams to replace that player on their active 26-man roster.
De La Cruz received the news that his older sister had passed away on Saturday, but he insisted on playing Sunday's game vs. the Cubs.
In her memory, De La Cruz inscribed “RIP Manita” on his cleats (a Spanish term for sister) and had two hits, including a two-run home run, and a walk in Cincinnati's 7-3 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
De La Cruz Sanchez died after an extended period of health issues, according to reports out of the Dominican Republic.
“We just told him we will support whatever he needs to do. He wants to play today, and then we’ll go from there," Francona said before the game.
De La Cruz was in the clubhouse Monday and took grounders during infield warmups before the game but did not speak to the media, preferring to maintain privacy.
“It’s hard,” Francona said Sunday. “We care so much about playing the game and winning. But in a hurry, you’re reminded of what’s really important. I think everybody kind of kept their head on a swivel with him today just trying to take care of him.”
Cincinnati was trailing 5-0 in the sixth inning with two outs Sunday when De La Cruz drove a 3-2 fastball from Cubs starter Jameson Taillon for his two-run home run that landed just inside the right-field foul pole. According to Statcast, the ball left his bat at 117.4 mph.
At 23 years and 141 days old, De La Cruz became the fifth-youngest player in Reds franchise history since 1900 to hit the 50th home run of his career. It also gave him a team-high 12 for the season.