CINCINNATI — The time for breath-holding has arrived at Great American Ball Park.
Elly De La Cruz pulled up just before hitting the first base bag after driving a ball to the gap in right-center against Atlanta starter Spencer Strider in the fifth inning. It was an otherwise easy double for De La Cruz before he hit the bag and didn’t want to chance doing any more damage. He was diagnosed with right hamstring tightness and – after being seen by trainer Sean McQueeney and manager Terry Francona – left the game.
“When I started running and then when I got to first, I felt tightness in my hamstring and immediately I decided to stop because I felt like if I keep going, this can get worse,” De La Cruz said via translator Tomas Vera.
“The reason they said that (hamstring tightness) is he thinks, he feels like he caught it before it did anything worse. Saying that, we’re going to get him scanned at 9 in the morning and we’ll know more,” Francona said. “Let’s kind of hope. He’s a pretty miraculous kid. Let’s just wait and see what happens.”
By the time the Reds get to the park for their Monday series opener with Kansas City, they should have a much better feel for the severity and just how long he could be out of the lineup, if at all. De La Cruz is again the most dynamic force in the Reds’ lineup, slashing .280/.346/.509 with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs, to go with 10 steals.
“I don’t believe it’s something bad. I really don’t. Obviously we are going to see what the MRI says, but I don’t feel like it’s something really bad at this point.”
While this is a soft tissue injury, it’s not related to last year’s quad injury that De La Cruz played through.
“No, it’s not the same. Last year I had a quad injury on the left side. This is the right side in the hamstring. But no it doesn’t feel the same as last year,” De La Cruz clarified afterward.
The most encouraging part of this is that De La Cruz was standing in front of his locker Sunday after the 6-4 win over the Braves, during which he singled twice and scored twice. There was no hiding or trying to avoid talking about it. Was he frustrated? Sure. But he didn’t sound pessimistic or down, which is perhaps the best sign of all, for now.
This is a player that has started 276 straight games, the third-longest streak in Reds history dating to 1970. (The other two, not surprisingly belong to one Pete Rose (281 1971-73 and 678 1973-78). De La Cruz takes immense pride in being available every single day.
“Well it’s always frustrating. You’re right, I don’t like to be out of the game,” De La Cruz added. “Honestly, right now I don’t feel that bad. We’re going to wait to see what happens. Obviously I would like to see that I can play, I don’t know if I am gonna play (Monday). We’re going to wait to see what’s going on, but yeah it’s a little frustrating.”
The Reds collectively are committed to not allowing De La Cruz to endure what he did in 2025, when he tried to heroically play through a partially torn left quad. During the first half of last season, De La Cruz was arguably the most dominant player in the National League. He was hitting for average, launching deep home runs, and wreaking havoc on the base paths.
But as the summer months wore on, a noticeable dip in his performance began to trouble both fans and the coaching staff. His power numbers plummeted, and his historically elite sprint speed noticeably declined, causing concern that he was playing through something serious.It was later revealed by the organization that De La Cruz had been grinding through a significant left quadriceps strain that involved a partial tear. Despite the pain and the obvious toll it took on his mechanics and overall explosiveness, De La Cruz’s relentless competitive drive pushed him to remain in the lineup every single day. While his willingness to play through adversity earned him the respect of his teammates and the coaching staff, the debate soon shifted to organizational management.
Many critics and analysts argued that, for the long-term health of a player who turned down a record-breaking contract extension, the team should have protected him from himself and placed him on the injured list to properly heal. The quad issue lingered into the offseason, forcing the young superstar to dedicate his entire winter to grueling rehabilitation and strength conditioning. Heading into this season, both De La Cruz and Francona expressed optimism. De La Cruz tested well physically, declared himself 100 percent healthy in the spring, and worked to revert to the aggressive leg-kick mechanics that defined his explosive early career.
This latest setback could put the Reds in a very difficult position. De La Cruz is not just a young phenom; he is the undisputed engine of the Reds offense and a cornerstone around which the entire franchise is being built. When he is fully healthy, his combination of speed, power, and switch-hitting ability makes him a truly unique force. But lower-body injuries—whether it is a quad tear or a tight hamstring—directly sap the foundational elements of his game. The Reds need to – and will – do everything reasonable in their power to protect their most valuable asset.
Moving forward, the primary concern for the Cincinnati medical staff and Francona will be managing De La Cruz’s workload. Because he has shown a stubborn, commendable desire to play in every single game, it often falls on the manager to mandate rest days. Striking the right balance between keeping their 24-year-old superstar on the field and ensuring he has the adequate rest to prevent lower-body strains will be the defining factor in how competitive the Reds can be in the highly contested National League Central. The hope in Cincinnati is that this hamstring issue is merely a minor blip that requires a few days of rest rather than an extended stint on the injured list, allowing their brightest star to return to the field and continue chasing an MVP-caliber season.
