This story was excerpted from Mark Sheldon's Reds Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CINCINNATI -- A chance to rest. A chance to reflect. A chance to figure out where they go from here. The Reds have a lot to mull over during this week's All-Star break.
At 47-49 entering Sunday, it's been a wildly inconsistent first half for a Cincinnati club that was expected to be a leading postseason contender after a busy offseason of additions.
While the season has never fully bounced out of orbit, there also isn't enough evidence to show the Reds will right the ship to truly compete for a playoff berth and make a deep run in October -- despite being only three games out for a National League Wild Card spot. It's quite a pointy fence to sit upon between buying and selling for the front office as the July 30 Trade Deadline approaches.
Injuries have been a big theme as several key offensive players have been out of action. A difficult schedule – including three West Coast trips – also didn't help. But neither of those excuses fully explains everything.
Before everybody disperses until the season resumes on Friday at Washington, here's a quick look at the Reds from the first half.
Team MVP: Elly De La Cruz
It hasn't always been smooth, but De La Cruz has the numbers and the electric play on his side. The 22-year-old shortstop is the team leader in OPS, WAR and the co-leader in home runs. Of course, he also leads the Major Leagues with 46 steals. Any time he steps on the field, De La Cruz is capable of doing something interesting and important for the team.
Best starting pitcher: Hunter Greene
This was tough to choose among Greene, Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo. But Lodolo has often been injured and Abbott's numbers are a slight tick below Greene's. Although Abbott has a 3.39 ERA compared to Greene's 3.34, it's Greene who has a team-leading 126 strikeouts and a 1.11 WHIP and has allowed fewer homers.
Best reliever: Fernando Cruz
Although Cruz isn't always a lockdown guy when beginning a clean inning, there's no one the Reds would rather have on the mound this season in a pressure moment in the late innings. Cruz's inherited runners scored percentage (17.6 percent) leads the Majors and he's tied for fourth among MLB relievers in strikeouts (63), both entering Sunday's games.
Worst luck: TJ Friedl
Three trips to the injured list, including two for contact injuries – a broken right wrist in Spring Training and a fractured left thumb from being hit by a pitch just six games after returning. He only had a precious few weeks back from the thumb injury when he suffered a right hamstring strain that has him out until soon after the break.
Best defensive play: Stuart Fairchild
Mostly as a center fielder, Fairchild has made some excellent plays and has robbed opponents of home runs multiple times in 2024. But his leaping catch on May 1 at the wall to take a homer from Manny Machado in San Diego may have topped them all.
Most costly injury: Matt McLain
McLain hurt his left shoulder practicing a diving catch of a popup during a Spring Training workout on March 18. He had surgery to repair cartilage damage and his labrum on March 27, and he hasn't played yet this season and it's not fully clear yet if he will be able to.
Best game: May 16 at the Dodgers
The Reds were struggling during this stretch, but in their series opener at Los Angeles, they earned a 7-2 win. De La Cruz led the way with four hits and four stolen bases, and he did it on Shohei Ohtani's bobblehead night.
Toughest loss: May 13 at the Diamondbacks
Cincinnati had taken a 5-4 lead with two runs in the top of the eighth inning and handed over the game to closer Alexis Díaz. In the bottom of the ninth, Díaz hit the leadoff batter and walked two others to load the bases with one out. That set up Kevin Newman, who hit a walk-off two-run single for the Reds' 11th loss (6-5) in 12 games.
Best series: At the Yankees from July 2-4
The Reds pitched great, hit well and seemingly did everything right while never trailing once during their three-game series sweep of the Yankees in the Bronx. It seemed, at the time, that this could have been the series to truly get them going.
Worst series: Vs. the Tigers from July 5-7
After the high of the Yankees series, losing all three games to Detroit at home was a big crash to a low. There was especially little life to the lineup in the finale, a 5-1 loss.
Best press conference debut: Ross Greene
After pitching six innings for a 3-1 victory over the Dodgers, Greene brought his new French bulldog puppy, Ross, to the interview room to meet the media. Wearing a little Reds T-shirt, Ross soaked in the spotlight very well as a very good boy.
Worst interpreter: Jake Fraley
When Friedl returned from his thumb injury on May 29 and spoke to reporters, Fraley wanted to sit next to his teammate and be the "interpreter." Let's just say Fraley was really no help at all.