Reds superstar Elly De La Cruz will be activated on Tuesday, according to manager Terry Francona -- and nobody will be more excited than Elly De La Cruz.
De La Cruz, who has been rehabbing a right hamstring strain that landed him on the IL on June 1, connected on a home run in his first rehab game for Triple-A Louisville on Friday. He played five innings at shortstop, following that up with an 0-for-3 game as the Bats' designated hitter on Saturday. De La Cruz went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and an error on Sunday before being pinch-hit for in the eighth inning.
“He wanted to come back today,” Reds manager Terry Francona said on Saturday before Cincinnati’s 10-2 win over the Yankees. “I think he was joking, but it was kind of cool. I got a text after the game and it goes, ‘I’ll be there tomorrow.’”
De La Cruz was hitting .280 with 12 home runs and an .855 OPS in 58 games before landing on the IL for the first time in his Major League career.
De La Cruz, 24, is currently third in All-Star voting for NL shortstops, with the top two moving on to Phase 2 of the balloting. He has been an All-Star each of the past two seasons.