Report: Elly De La Cruz's World Baseball Classic Status Takes Surprise Turn

There are multiple reports out on Thursday afternoon that Elly De La Cruz may not be playing in the World Baseball Classic after all because did not get permission from the Reds

"There are reports that Elly De La Cruz may not have received 'permission' from the Reds to play in the 2026 World Baseball Classic," Shawn Spradling wrote on X. "ML/WBC posted about his participation in the tournament on Tuesday. It appears that post have since be deleted."

It appears that the Reds deleted their post about De La Cruz participating in the tournament as well.

Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall appeared on the Reds Hot Stove in November and revealed De La Cruz played the second half of the season with a partially torn quad.

"Toward the end of July, he was dealing with a partially torn quad,"Krall said. "He has been rehabbing. He was at the ballpark today. He has been rehabbing this whole offseason. To his credit, he played every day. He tried to grind through it. He tried to play through it."

It wouldn't surprise me if this is the reason the Reds wouldn't want their superstar shortstop participating.

The Reds have yet to comment on this.

Reds deleted their post about Elly, too.

Would be an odd move. Elly deserves to represent his country if he wants. https://t.co/ZgJFVHw4cx
— Bryce Spalding (@bryce_spalding) December 11, 2025