CINCINNATI — No one symbolizes the essence of Opening Day in Cincinnati more than Elly De La Cruz.
His smile, his laugh, his thoughtful answers to prodding questions about being the face of baseball’s first professional franchise and – perhaps most of all – his optimism and confidence heading into his first full MLB season are precisely what every teammate, executive and fan want to feel on the first day games count.
The impact of De La Cruz goes well beyond the numbers and style he displays on the field. He has gone out of his way this offseason to learn English so he can raise that level of reach with the fans.
“I’m so excited about (Opening Day). It’s going to be electric. It’s going to be electric, and it’s going to be a great day,” said De La Cruz, who will be taking in his first big league Opening Day experience in the city where professional baseball began.
That’s how De La Cruz approaches every day in baseball. There’s no pressure to produce. It’s enjoying the chance to show off his talent every day and there’s no better day than Opening Day when all of Cincinnati will be paying attention.
“No, I don’t feel any pressure. I’m just enjoying enjoying it, enjoying the moment,” he said.
“It’s not just the expectation, we’ve got to make it happen.” Elly De La Cruz excited for Reds Opening Day Thursday in Cincinnati pic.twitter.com/wrmSP1EzYj
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) March 27, 2024
Of course, the greatest enjoyment would be leading the Reds back to the playoffs for the first time in four years and giving this team a chance to win in the postseason. De La Cruz not only has supreme confidence in himself, but the team as well.
“I’m so excited because we have a really good team,” De La Cruz said. “There’s a lot of expectation for this team. But it’s not only expectation, we’ve got to make it happen and we’re going to make it happen.”
De La Cruz is at the heart of a young core that includes Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Noelvi Marte and Matt McLain that is expected to lead these Reds to great things in 2024 and beyond.
De La Cruz, of course, lit the baseball world ablaze when he debuted in June of last year. He hit .307 with three homers and 12 RBIs in June. He fell off to .238 in July, .198 in August and .202 in Sept./Oct. He did manage to steal 12 bases in the final month and finished with 35 steals in 96 games.
“I always want to enjoy the game,”De La Cruz said. “I’m always going to be aggressive, and I always want more. I don’t stop.”
Of course, even the optimistic De La Cruz was disappointed to hear the news of Matt McLain, who will be out indefinitely following surgery on his left shoulder to repair cartilage and labrum damage after diving for a ball in team drills in Arizona.
“It was really tough because he’s been part of the team,” De La Cruz said. “When I heard that, it was tough. I can’t wait until he’s back.”
But perhaps the biggest adjustment De La Cruz took on was his willingness to communicate with the fans and media. It was a commitment that many from the Dominican have made over the years.
They understand that if you can speak the language of the fan, then the fan is more likely to embrace you. And fans in Cincinnati absolutely want to embrace everything about ELDC.
“It’s important for the fans to understand me and me understand the fans.” Elly De La Cruz with a highly thoughtful and sensitive answer to @m_sheldon’s question about his commitment to learning English and speaking it this season. pic.twitter.com/vC3cmGQeWY
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) March 27, 2024
“It’s so important to me because you guys (media) can understand what I say,” De La Cruz said. “It’s important to the fans to understand me and me understand the fans. I put a lot of work in on my English to talk with you guys, and I think I’m doing a good job.”
Team interpreter Jorge Merlos helped him learn last year when he first arrived in Cincinnati.
“I can vouch for that,” Merlos said with a smile.
“I practiced every day with the other guys,” De La Cruz said of his offseason and spring training language work with teammates.
“I don’t need him no more,” De La Cruz jokingly declared, while still asking him for some help on more involved questions on Wednesday.
There’s no doubt the Reds will need De La Cruz to take that next step in his baseball work this year as the Reds look to graduate to the playoffs in 2024.
Following Tuesday’s surgery to repair torn cartilage and his labrum in his left shoulder, Matt McLain is on the mend. How long that will take is still up in the air as the Reds await progress reports from McLain. “I’m very hopeful to have him back this season,” David Bell said Wednesday. But exactly when that will be is unknown at this early stage of the season.
“I don’t know. I know what you know, I know what was released. As far as the exact progression, I have not been informed with that yet,” Bell said. “I think that may take some time before we we see what that looks like. Bottom line is Matt has a long career ahead of him. He’s going to come back and that’s the focus. Whatever that is, we’re all looking forward to that. I know Matt is already. Just messaging back and forth with him, he already has the right outlook on this. So I’m very hopeful we get him back this season. And this is what being a team is all about. It’s an opportunity for other guys to step up. And then while we do get that back.
“Of course he makes us better team. There’s no question so we’re looking forward to that. But in the meantime, we love what we have here and the players we have to make up for that loss. So we knew this was going to be a challenge. But it sounded like everything went well and want to get more information as part of the as the exact date but I know he’s gonna be motivated to get back as quick as you can. He’s young and the human body’s amazing. So we’re very hopeful to get him back this season.”
That means Jonathan India primarily steps into the role he had before McLain was called up at the end of May last year. Bell said India was already going to be an everyday player for the Reds. Now, that just means he steps back into his role at second base.
Bubba Thompson, 25, was rewarded for his defensive prowess and improved work at the plate during spring training by earning the 26th and final roster spot Wednesday. He also made a nice running grab up against the right field foul line wall on Wednesday to end the first inning of the intrasquad scrimmage at Great American Ball Park. He spent the last two seasons with the Rangers.
“He has a lot of experience with the defensive he plays and he had a nice camp for us,” Bell said. “He’s making strides offensively that are hitting coaches are liking, that we’re all seeing, so it’d be great to have Bubba as part of our team.”
Graham Ashcraft and Andrew Abbott each threw three scoreless, hitless innings Wednesday in the final tuneup for their first starts of the season. Abbott is slated to start the series opener in Philadelphia Monday night while Ashcraft will finish the first trip through the rotation on Tuesday night in Philly.
The 26-man 2024 Opening Day roster:
C: Tyler Stephenson
1B: Christian Encarnacion-Strand
2B: Jonathan India
SS: Elly De La Cruz
3B: Jeimer Candelario
LF: Spencer Steer
CF: Will Benson
RF: Jake Fraley
DH: Nick Martini
C Luke Maile
OF Bubba Thompson
INF Santiago Espinal
OF Stuart Fairchild
RHP Frankie Montas
RHP Hunter Greene
RHP Nick Martinez
LHP Andrew Abbott
RHP Graham Ashcraft
LHP Justin Wilson
RHP Lucas Sims
RHP Buck Farmer
RHP Alexis Diaz
RHP Emilio Pagan
RHP Fernando Cruz
LHP Brent Suter
RHP Tejay Antone
LHP Nick Lodolo
RHP Ian Gibaut
LHP Alex Young
INF Matt McLain
OF TJ Friedl
LHP Sam Moll
INF Noelvi Marte
