Cincinnati Reds Provide Massive Update on Shortstop Elly De La Cruz

The Reds superstar will be coming to a ballpark near you, very, very soon.

May 31, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly de la Cruz scores a run against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

In a perfect world, the Cincinnati Reds would get to play the New York Mets every night. On Monday night, the Reds took the Mets to the woodshed in a 12-0 shutout in front of the home crowd at Great American Ball Park.

The last month and a half has been depressing for this Reds baseball team. Their last series win came at the end of May against, you guessed it, the Mets.

Plenty of things have gone wrong for the Reds that have led them to their last-place standing in the National League Central. The biggest issue for this team was the hamstring injury suffered by Elly De La Cruz.

May 31, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly de la Cruz (44) singles against the Atlanta Braves in the fifth inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

De La Cruz took a ginger limp to first base on a hit that would normally be extra bases for the speedy superstar in the team's final game in the month of May against the Atlanta Braves.

Immediately, manager Terry Francona pulled De La Cruz from the game, and it was later revealed that the Reds shortstop was dealing with a hamstring injury. De La Cruz has seemingly struggled to watch his team from the dugout, knowing he can't be out there to help lead them to victory. However, that will soon be a thing of the past.

C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic shared that the Reds have scheduled De La Cruz for his rehab assignment with the Louisville Bats in AAA. Rosecrans shared that De La Cruz will run today and Wednesday, then begin his assignment with the Bats on Friday, where he will play five innings. De La Cruz is set to DH on Saturday, then play shortstop on Sunday. Francona revealed the earliest De La Cruz could return to Cincinnati's roster would be next Tuesday.

May 30, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly de la Cruz (44) runs to third after hitting a triple in the third inning against the Atlanta Braves at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

This is the exact shot in the arm this team needs. While the Reds still need to focus on taking care of business against the Mets and New York Yankees this weekend, there is a world, albeit small, where this team could be hovering around .500 when their superstar returns.

Before his injury, De La Cruz was one of the leaders of the Reds' offense. The slugging switch-hitter was batting .280 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI's, posting a WAR of 2.2 before his untimely injury. There's no question that De La Cruz will be back with a vengeance. That's a good thing, because the Reds could sure use their Batman right now.