Earlier today, the Cincinnati Reds placed superstar shortstop Elly De La Cruz on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring injury.
Now, the severity of the injury has been identified and the Reds have an idea of when their franchise player will be back on the field. According to manager Terry Francona, De La Cruz has a mild Grade 1-2 hamstring strain, and will be out for roughly 2-4 weeks.
"He didn't want to go on the IL, which I respect," Francona said to the media. "But we need to take care of him."
De La Cruz sustained the injury on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves in the bottom of the fifth inning. The 6-foot-7 shortstop drilled a Spencer Strider pitch 111.5 mph into the right-center field gap, which would have been a sure double or triple considering De La Cruz's speed, but he pulled up awkwardly at first base. He was replaced on the bases by Matt McLain, who played the rest of the game at shortstop.
De La Cruz finished the day 2-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored. Games like these have been very common for the 24-year-old, who was on track for his best season yet; in 58 games, De La Cruz was hitting .280/.346/.509 with 12 home runs, 10 stolen bases, a Fielding Run Value of 5 (per Statcast), and 2.7 fWAR. The latter is currently tied with Andy Pages, Ben Rice and James Wood for the third-best in MLB.
The Reds are going to miss his presence greatly in all facets of the game, as De La Cruz is rapidly evolving into a five-tool player. In addition to his speed and power combination, he possesses tremendous athleticism, reaction time, range and arm strength that make him an ideal shortstop.
De La Cruz's outstanding play, alongside a hard-throwing and talented pitching staff, have the Reds at 30-28 on the season, although this puts them in last in a brutally competitive NL Central. However, Cincinnati has been hampered with injuries lately; in addition to losing De La Cruz, they are without catcher Jose Trevino, third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, and pitchers Hunter Greene, Rhett Lowder, Graham Ashcraft, Pierce Johnson, Emilio Pagan and Brandon Williamson. Emerging ace Chase Burns was also scratched from his start on Monday due to illness.
The Reds will look to keep the ship steady as De La Cruz and their other injured contributors work their way back. They will begin a three-game series at home against the Kansas City Royals tonight after dropping two of three against the Braves last weekend.
