Jun. 24—With Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz back on the active roster, a lot of pieces fall back into place for the team.
A defining aspect of the Reds’ offense so far this summer is that while the lineup has been producing homers, the middle of the order hasn’t been stringing base hits together to create big rallies. The Reds’ offense had been overly reliant on the long ball, and speed wasn’t as much of a strength of the middle of the order without the two-time All-Star.
De La Cruz’s combination of ability to hit for average, power and speed makes him a focal point of the lineup.
“Having him back is nice,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “You don’t know if a guy is going to get hot. If we keep him healthy and let him do his thing, it’ll be really welcome.”
When De La Cruz was out, opposing managers were game planning to stop surging Reds’ outfielder JJ Bleday. Teams would structure their bullpens to give Bleday the toughest left-handed matchups, which is a process that creates challenges for any hitter whose name is being circled by the opposing team.
Leadoff hitter Blake Dunn also had to carry more responsibility in the lineup without De La Cruz. Dunn has done a nice job, but he has had some inconsistent stretches.
De La Cruz’s return should change the way that teams attack other hitters, including Dunn and Bleday.
“The strides he has made, to see him carry that into the season and the consistency he has shown have been great,” Reds hitting coach Chris Valaika said about De La Cruz. “Hitting from the right side has been the biggest highlight. His overall game has been consistently improving.”
As much as anything, De La Cruz’s return should help the Reds’ defense.
This year, De La Cruz has been playing the best defense of his career. His arm, range and improved consistency have been a big part of his next step. On top of that, his return should allow some other moving pieces to slide back into place.
Matt McLain had been playing more shortstop during De La Cruz’s absence. With the All-Star shortstop back, McLain has a chance to showcase why he’s one of the best defensive second basemen in MLB.
What is the Reds’ plan at second base, where McLain, Edwin Arroyo and Spencer Steer are all options right now?
“I don’t know,” Francona said. “That’s just being truthful. We talked extensively for a while knowing Elly was coming back. Arroyo can move around, as we’ve seen. Just because we did this today doesn’t mean we need to stay like this. We’ll see how this works out.”
It was alarming how often the Reds struggled turning double plays in De La Cruz’s absence. De La Cruz and McLain both have terrific arms, and the return of that duo when they’re starting to next to each other in the middle infield should help the Reds convert a lot more outs.
Also, De La Cruz’s return will allow Spencer Steer to play his best positions more often. It will be easier for the Reds to get Steer off of second base and right field and play him more at first base and left field with De La Cruz in the mix.
De La Cruz went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to the Brewers.
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