ST. LOUIS — Throughout this season of inconsistent offense, but especially lately, the Reds have sorely missed power and production from Elly De La Cruz. Manager Terry Francona has resisted giving the Reds’ All-Star shortstop a day off. But Francona tried something on Monday, seeking to spark his club amid its fading playoff hopes.
For the opener of a critical series vs. the Cardinals, De La Cruz was moved out of his usual third spot in the order for the first time this season to seventh. He last batted there as a rookie in 2023, when he did so six times.
“I value consistency so much. Sometimes, I think that can turn into stubbornness,” Francona said. “I believe in Elly so much, and I don’t want people pointing fingers at him. Because we’re going to do things as a ballclub — good things and when they don’t go so well. But I do think this can take a little bit of the glare off of him.”
De La Cruz entered Monday batting .263 with a .764 OPS while playing in all 149 games, leading the team with 19 home runs, 82 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. But the switch-hitter has not hit a homer since July 31, and has only one homer in 70 games since June 24.
“Lately, it’s almost like he’s been swinging with two strikes right from the get-go. He’s just in between,” Francona said. “He’s just kind of got himself in a bind. I know there’s not a ton of time left, [but] he’s a big part of what we do. I’d rather spend time thinking about how we get him going than sitting him or resting him. He’ll rest here pretty soon.”
In a sign of how challenged the Reds have been offensively, two hitters who opened the season in the top third of the order — Matt McLain and De La Cruz — are now in the bottom third. McLain, who has endured a season-long slump, has batted ninth for much of the second half.
Is De La Cruz fatigued down the stretch? Although he has shown decreased bat speed from the start of the season, Francona and strength coach Rob Fumagalli placed emphasis on De La Cruz’s sprint speed. While also lower than earlier in the year, it’s still at 28.1 feet per second in September, well above the league average of 27.0.
“Fumo [Fumagalli] keeps an eye on that, really, a lot, which helps me. Because if that starts to go down, that’s when I would be worried,” Francona said. “There are 13 games left, we need to play.”
Still only 23, De La Cruz is a two-time All-Star and a dynamic face of the franchise. Francona did not view that as added pressure for a young player who has handled a lot in his three big league seasons.
“Just play the game of baseball. He certainly knows how to do that,” Francona said. “It doesn’t matter what your age is. It just comes back to playing the game. And the better you can do it as a team, then sometimes it takes the glare off of guys too. We win as a team. We lose as a team.”
