Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly de La Cruz made his 20th league lead turnover this season in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, which cost his team.
Two outs and the base is full, on the bat on the Dodgers' outfielder Andy's page, a grounder rolls right to the left field between De La Cruz's legs. Miscrimes gave Los Angeles two runs again and again, and raised its lead to 5-0.
For De La Cruz, this is nothing new. His defensive mistakes have become so common this season that fans on social media have given him the nickname De La Cruz. De La Cruz not only made many ridiculous mistakes this season, but also appeared frequently at critical moments in the game.
The Reds may soon be forced into pain Ellie Dela Cruz's decision
Reds fans have been clamoring for years and seeing De La Cruise move to the outfield, they may end up getting their wishes. De La Cruz leads all the MLB mistakes, and he also sees a downturn in the advanced metrics. He deserves to save this season -4 Defensive Run (DRS) and -2 Knockout (OAA).
De La Cruz is one of the fastest players in the sport and has a hand in hand. This combination could help him become Fernando Tatis Jr, right-fielder like San Diego Padres.
Dodgers rise 5-0 to 5-0 on the ball through Elly de la Cruz's legs pic.twitter.com/anksb08qt1
– Baseball (@talkinbaseball_) August 26, 2025
Since the Reds are already committed to playing Noelvi Marte in the right areas, the only logical place to deploy De La Cruz will be in the center. The location is currently occupied by TJ Friedl, so this could be a problem. Friedl will pass arbitration salary increase this winter and has gone through an up and down season, but he is also the team leader and it is hard to see the Reds trade him in the offseason.
The idea of moving De La Cruz to the right is almost expiring after a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates was struggling with the Pittsburgh Pirates at a July 31st trade deadline. Hayes is the Golden Gloves guard and Cincinnati has no intention of replacing him at third base with De la Cruz.
There is really no good answer to this question. Even if the Reds were able to find Dela Cruz's position in the outfield, who took over at shortstop? Edwin Arroyo is certainly defensive, but he spent the entire season on the lookout in Chattanooga and hasn't even moistened his feet in the triple A.
De La Cruz is an amazing talent and has a knack for making a spectacular defensive effect look easy. He also makes routines look more difficult than it should be, and it is his field of play that must improve next season.
The Reds have a dilemma in their hands during the offseason. Cincinnati doesn't want to take De la Cruz out of shortstop next season, but they may not have a choice.