During this three-week stint on the injured list for Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz, the team has missed more than the hits, stolen bases, and defensive highlights he brings to the table. The Reds were reminded just how important he is.
De La Cruz is on track be activated on Tuesday, which is some light at the end of the tunnel. The Reds played some of their worst baseball of the season in the immediate aftermath of his hamstring injury, but they started playing better over the past week. Still, they’re just 7-12 in June as this week’s series against the Milwaukee Brewers kicked off Monday night with an extra-innings loss.
The Reds have also been playing without ace Hunter Greene and closer Emilio Pagán, who are getting closer to returning to game action as well. Getting them and De La Cruz back will be the key to kickstarting positive vibes. “You stay in the fight and go on a run,” says Pagán. “Hunter coming back is going to be huge. When you have your best players on the field and contributing, that allows everybody else to fall in and do what they do and not have any extra pressure on them.”
Playing without three of the roster’s top players has forced trhe remaining Reds into more difficult roles. Without De La Cruz hitting in the middle of the order, opposing managers are game-planning to stop outfielder JJ Bleday, who now has his name circled in the lineup. He isn’t getting quite as much to hit these days.
Playing without De La Cruz has also thrown off the Reds’ defense. Matt McLain has done well at shortstop, but the defense at second base has suffered with Edwin Arroyo or Spencer Steer there.
De La Cruz knows his importance to the team. He’s been pushing to return as quickly as possible since going on the injured list on June 1. “He’s doing everything he can,” Terry Francona says. “Every player pushes, especially the good ones. Our responsibility is to not let him hurt himself.”
The Reds have taken the necessary steps. De La Cruz progressed from jogging to baseball activities to running the bases to full workouts on the field to a Triple-A rehab assignment. “We love the fact of how much he wants to play, believe me,” says Francona. “We really respect it. But we still have to do what’s right. This is where we have to defer to medical people.”
Meanwhile, Greene began his rehab assignment on Thursday and threw four impressive innings in Rookie Ball. He’ll continue his rehab assignment in Triple-A this week, and there’s a chance that he could return in early July.
Greene had high expectations entering this season, but stabbing pain in his elbow led to him needing a procedure to remove bone chips. He’s on track to beat the initial projection timeline of the All-Star break.
The Reds’ rotation has a lot of good pieces, but Greene is the most established starter in the group. He’s also the best at pitching deep into games. His presence at the top of the rotation when he’s back will take some pressure off the other starters. It’ll also take pressure off the bullpen, the season’s X-factor.
Since starters haven’t been going deep enough into games consistently this year, the bullpen has had to cover a ton of ground. Due to a run of bullpen injuries, the unit’s depth has been tested. Pitchers have often had to appear in unideal situations for matchups that weren’t in their favor.
Pagán’s hamstring injury, which he suffered in early May, was the most impactful of the bunch. The entire structure of the bullpen got shaken up when the Reds lost their closer. He’s set to start a rehab assignment this week and could return before the All-Star break.
Pagán is embracing the pressure-filled role that he’s heading back into. “We know we’re a good team and know what we’re capable of,” he says. “We know we can go on a run and rattle off eight or 10 straight wins and put us in a spot where now people are talking about us as a favorite for the division again. This game has a lot of runs. We know we have one in us.”
While expectations remain high, the Reds are still below .500. They certainly need to go on a run if they want to get aggressive at the upcoming trade deadline. To do that, they need their stars to play like stars. The next step is getting their stars back healthy.
Charlie Goldsmith has covered the Reds and Bengals since 2020, and his newsletter on the teams can be found at charlieschalkboard.substack.com.
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