Elly

De La Cruz

“He got, I’d say, very good news,” Reds manager Terry Francona told reporters on Friday. “He’s about 90 percent healed, which is fantastic.” He added that De La Cruz will continue ramping up baseball activities and that they’ll make a decision on his next steps, including a potential rehab assignment, later this weekend. All signs point to De La Cruz making it back to Cincinnati before the end of June, which is right in line with his initial 2-4 week recovery timeline.

De La Cruz has resumed baseball activities and appears ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation process from a hamstring strain that put him on the shelf earlier this week. The 24-year-old was originally expected to miss 2-4 weeks, but it’s starting to look like he’ll be on the shorter end of that spectrum. There should be a definitive return timeline once he undergoes additional imaging on Friday.

Francona added that De La Cruz has been diagnosed with a Grade 1-2 hamstring strain that will require a multi-week absence. The 24-year-old fantasy superstar, who was hitting .280/.346/.509 with 40 runs scored, 12 homers, 37 RBI and 10 steals through 58 games, hit the injured list prior to Monday’s series opener against the Royals and figures to be out until at least mid-to-late June in a best-case scenario. Matt McLain figures to get some looks at shortstop with top prospect Edwin Arroyo likely to factor into the equation between both shortstop and second base.

It’s the first ever IL trip for De La Cruz, who played in 162 games last season and started the Reds’ first 58 games this season. The hope is that this will be a short stay for the shortstop, who is hitting .280/.346/.509 on the season. It’s definitely a blow to the Reds, but it is an opportunity to give Edwin Arroyo a look and see if he might be a starting second base option after De La Cruz returns.

De La Cruz exited Sunday’s game against Atlanta with tightness in the hamstring. The 24-year-old told Reds manager Terry Francona that he believes he pulled up before causing a serious injury, but Cincinnati will undergo the imaging to be sure.

He’s undergoing additional evaluation. The severity of the injury is not yet known, so it remains unclear how much time (if any) the dynamic 24-year-old shortstop may have to miss. Matt McLain replaced him at shortstop on Sunday and could be in line for increased run at the position if De La Cruz is forced to miss any time.

The 24-year-old superstar singled to open the fifth inning, but came up hobbling as he rounded first base and was ultimately lifted for a pinch runner after a discussion with the training staff. He’ll head for further evaluation. All fantasy managers and Reds’ fans can do now is wait and hope for the best. The Reds should have an update on his status shortly.

Suárez makes his return to Cincinnati’s lineup after being activated from the injured list prior to Friday’s rainout. The 34-year-old veteran slugger wound up missing nearly one month recovering from a low-grade left oblique strain. His presence will provide a lift for the rest of the Reds lineup as he’ll serve as much-needed protection behind middle-of-the-order threats like Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart.

Kyle Leahy and Chris Paddack were Friday’s scheduled starters. It will be made up as the first game of a split doubleheader on Saturday.

De La Cruz swatted an opposite-field blast off Gavin Williams in the third inning before Cleveland eventually blew the game open with six homers. The star shortstop is now hitting .302/.364/.540 this season, all career-high marks. The only downside is he entered Sunday with a 3 percent stolen base attempt rate, per Baseball Savant. That’s well below the 8.7 percent mark he posted in 2024 en route to 67 thefts. Through mid-May he’s 9-for-13 in attempts. The bags are still part of his fantasy profile, and there’s 30/30 upside or better if he becomes more aggressive on the bases.