One key piece of the Cincinnati Reds’ infield puzzle for the next season is in place: Elly De La Cruz at shortstop. Although other players will be moving around, the 22-year-old player will be more stationary in this position.
This move was made because the Reds need to be flexible and adaptable as they have more everyday infielders than available spots.
The Reds are trying to maximize their infield, and part of that plan includes adding De La Cruz to the shortstop position.The target at second base is Matt McLain, who played both shortstop and second base the previous season. Jonathan India, the current second baseman, will have to be adaptable.
Elly will play a number of shorts before it starts. Matt will play a lot of second, and the rest of us will just have to wait and see how things work out. Jonathan and I have already discussed playing several positions. Matt would be somewhat short and primarily in second place.According to MLB, Reds manager David Bell said.
Defensive factors also influence the choice to start McLain at second base and De La Cruz at shortstop. India has performed poorly in advanced measures since his debut in 2021. De La Cruz and McLain as a middle-infield duo should be an improvement.
De La Cruz’s performance and future prospects
De La Cruz made a significant impact when he arrived last June, delivering some of the Reds’ most electric moments of 2023. However, most of these came during his first month in the big leagues.
De La Cruz batted .325 with a .887 OPS over his first 30 games and then .191 with a .627 OPS over the final 68 games. Despite this, he led the team with 35 steals and showed promise as a switch-hitter.
However, towards the end of the season, a decline was observed in De La Cruz’s performance, both offensively and defensively.
He was gassed· You could see he was gassed· Elly is a good example of what happened towards the end of last year with guys· Guys got tired at the end of last year· They didn’t understand what it was like to play more than six games without an off-day because they didn’t have to do it in the Minor Leagues. As the president of baseball operations, Nick Krall, noted as per MLB
In response to this, the Reds have taken proactive steps to improve De La Cruz’s performance. He did not play winter ball, but the Reds sent hitting coach Joel McKeithan to his home in the Dominican Republic to work on mechanical changes for both sides of the plate.
We’ve lessened some of his leg kick at the plate. We’ve made a couple changes like that. As Krall mentioned as per MLB
It is anticipated that these modifications will assist De La Cruz in maintaining his level of play all season long.