5 Reasons Why Elly De La Cruz Should Be The Cincinnati Reds SS In 2026. PERIOD.

5 Reasons Why Elly De La Cruz Should Be The Cincinnati Reds SS In 2026. PERIOD.

Well, hey, what’s going on? Nick Kirby here. Welcome into Chatterbox Reds, the offseason edition, sponsored as always by Deep South Commodities. Thanks for taking some time to join us. Today is uh going to talk about why Ellie de la Cruz should stay the Cincinnati Red shortstop. Before we get to that, some news and notes, some interesting news around Red’s country will run through. First off, Could Brian Hayes and Spencer Steer both gold glove finalists? that was announced on Wednesday. Kabrian Hayes obviously I think the best defensive player on the planet in Major League Baseball. Uh so no surprise there. I think he should be the platinum winner in my opinion. Um and I’m really excited about Kabrian Hayes over a full 162 game season. One thing with Kabrian Hayes was kind of interesting. Everyone was really excited when when he came over and got off to a really good start. kind of slumped a little bit and it was right into the like uh the do or die games. You know, every game meant so much more because it was the end of the year and you’re in a playoff race and it felt like no one cared about the defense anymore. Um and I understand that like people want the bats like you have to win these games. I I’m excited to see Kabrian Hayes when there’s not like that pressure um right off the rip and I think seeing that over 162 I think it’s gonna be interesting and I think Kabrian Hayes could be a very valuable player and we’ll see kind of how that shakes out. Spencer Steer, shout out to him. I know we’ve kind of been not critical of steer but critical of the Red’s usage of steer, but uh for a guy that uh had never really played first base, I don’t think coming up through the miners um to really kind of take the bull by the horns. He was a very good defensive first baseman. Uh very deserving of this. Uh his range was really impressive. I was looking at some of his statistics um on Stackcast. his range was was really really good and that’s I think was the biggest part of that of that with Spencer Steer. We could talk all offseason about what the Red should do with him going forward, but if he is at first base, he’s done a very good job defensively and I think he’d only get better there, too. Um, so shout out to Spencer Steer. Uh, other interesting news, Red’s third base coach Jr. House is leaving the Reds. He was not fired. He’s going to the Diamondbacks, his choice. Um, now the article uh from an Arizona newspaper said uh that uh J House actually lives in Arizona. His family’s out there. Talked about how he would take red eyes to try to spend the day with his family. So, it seems like the move was mostly just to be closer to his family. And if you’re familiar at all with like Arizona and the Phoenix area, uh obviously all the spring training facilities are out there for the teams that are um in Arizona and not in Florida. And uh they’re all pretty close together, so it would make sense. I know there’s a lot of baseball players uh that regardless of where the city is, they their families, they raise them out in Arizona um and and make their home there because it’s easier because you’re there, you know, all month. So, I think that’s probably why J House left. So, the Reds do have a third base vacancy. Could call Cowgill maybe slide from first to third? I know Calgill is a big part of the running game, so they may not want to move him off of first, but he is a more trusted coach. Mike Napoli played first base. um would seem like a a really typical first base kind of coach. So, uh that’s it. Or maybe the Reds will bring someone else in. Uh but we’ll certainly keep you posted on that. Uh we’ll get to the Arizona Fall League here in a second, but we actually had a prospect uh starting in the Dominican Winter League. Carlos Jorge, Red’s number 22 ranked prospect debuted in the Dominican Winter League on Wednesday. He went 143. Uh excited for Carlos Jorge. He’s a guy that kind of had an up and down uh career, especially offensively. Really fun prospect. One of my favorite prospects to watch. Um but hasn’t produced offensively enough yet to this point. Hopefully can build some confidence out in the Dominican winter league and parlay that into a big 2026. All right. Out in the Arizona Fall League, uh number two ranked Red’s prospect. I can’t believe he’s all the way up to number two. Welldeserving Alfredo Duno. He’s three for 10 so far. Four walks. Uh 467 on base percentage. That should be no surprise to anyone that’s watched him. This guy is a incredible uh walk king. Um Alfredo Duno off to a good start in the Arizona Fall League. Cam Collier Red’s number six ranked prospect. He’s just three for 15, but does have four walks. That’s good for a 368 on base percentage. Also did have a double. I think he hit 109 off the bat. So did have one ball hit really hard. Reds are a 23 range prospect. Leo Balazar. He’s really impressed so far. 6 for6. He’s got a 444 on base percentage. And interestingly, he’s played three of his four games at third base. Now, that’s a position he had not played with the Reds since 2023. Only played there three times, only started there three times in the minor leagues. Leo Balazar is a rule five eligible player we talked about. Um, so the Reds could have to protect him and I think this Arizona Fall League is kind of maybe trying to make a little bit of a better decision on if they should protect him or not. All right, now over to the pitching side. We’ll start off with Trevor Cel, player that really had a very impressive season uh down at DoubleA for the Reds. A player picked up off Indie Ball uh last off season. A local Saints grad uh has just had a great year. Was actually the lookout’s closer at the end of the year. Was a guy that went to drive line, reinvented himself, and looks like a guy that could potentially be a big league reliever for the Red. So far, impressive stuff so far in the Arizona Fall League. two and the third innings pitched, zero hits, three walks, five strikeouts, and one run allowed. Now, the three walks, he has been a guy that’s walked a lot of guys. Probably a little bit of uh nerves in the Arizona folly, but five strikeouts so far in two and a third that will play. And we have Statcast data on Consul. We didn’t get that down at DoubleA, or at least I’m not cool enough to get access to that. Uh Consul, uh this was on Tuesday, hit 96.4 four miles per hour with his fast ball. That was what he maxed out at. His cutter though, how about this? He got five whiffs on nine swings against his cutter. Um, so that pitch certainly uh looking very, very good. Uh, cutter only averaged 87.8 miles per hour, but an effective pitch. Officially, they list, and it could be wrong. Uh I’m not a pitching guru, but I’m just going to read what it what it says that that he he threw threw a cutter 15 times, the four seam fast seven times, a slider three times, get one whiff on two swings, and then he threw a change up one time. So Trevor Cunzel certainly a name to watch. Hunter Park’s also a name to watch. A guy that just has not been able to put it all together. Has all the talent in the world. In fact, he hit 98.2 miles per hour with his fast ball in his last outing. But the walks continue to kill him. We walked four batters so far in an inning in two/3s. Has not allowed a hit yet, but uh uh has allowed just only allowed one run uh and has struck out three batters. Pitcher that really struggled, Luke Hayden res 30 ranked prospect. He really got roughed up on Wednesday. He gave up four runs. Really the only Reds prospect in the Arizona Fall League so far that has uh struggled. And then Rhett Ladder, we already talked about him. He threw two scoreless innings in his only game last week. We’ll certainly be keeping our eye on if he pitches again soon. All right, before we get to my conversation about Ellie Dea Cruz. Let’s have a quick word from our sponsors. Deep South Commodities is a proud supporter of Chatterbox Reds and our deep drive of the day and DSC is a leader in renewable commodities for bofuel production specializing in used cooking oil collection, aggregation and sales. Visit www.deepsouthcommodities.com deepsouthcommodmodities.com for more information. Thanks as always to our friends at DSC. And we also want to remind you that you can call or text 988 anytime, day or night. The 988 suicide and crisis lifeline is a place to get support for anything related to mental health. Whether it’s an immediate crisis, simply wanting to find out how to connect with care, or anything in between. It’s a 100% confidential, secure, and anonymous way to reach out for help when you don’t know where else to turn. To connect, call or text 988 or visit mantherapy.org to get help. It’s okay not to be okay. All right, five reasons why the Cincinnati Reds should make LA Cruz their shortstop in 2026 and not regret it. End of discussion. All right, let’s start off. Look, it was a disappointing season defensively for Elliot de Cruz and offensively at the end of the year. There’s no denying that. Um, I don’t really care, as I’ve said many times, about the heirs. He led the league with 26 airs. Um, airs are a long, outdated way of measuring defense. But in 2025, Ellie did not make up for the heirs with the spectacular plays that we’ve seen. There were some of them for sure, but there certainly was not as many of them. It was a disappointing season defensively for Ellie de la Cruz. There’s some factors in that, I think, and we’ll talk about that as we go along. But look, it was a disappointing season. Not denying that. We’ll start off with that. But that said, he wasn’t that bad. He was not that bad defensively. He was not the world’s worst shortstop. In fact, he’s actually a pretty okay, slightly below average shortstop if you look at uh any of the defensive metrics, which you know that I uh care far more than just errors. Uh here’s the numbers on Ellie. He had minus two outs above average and minus5 defensive runs saved. Those are the two stats. Outs above average has been the one we lean on more. I don’t think it’s uh necessarily a reason to discount this defensive run saved, but outs above average there’s a lot more data that goes into that. Defensive runs saved is an eye test type statistic. Um but I think both help us get a picture. Um I’ve seen a lot Ellie was minus two outs above average. He was minus two outs above average. Minus two outs above average is not that big of a deal. That is two outs over the course of a 162 game season that Ellie cost the Reds more than the average shortstop. That’s not a big deal. In fact, he ranked 27th out of the 37 qualifying shortstops in 2025 in outs above average. Uh that was tied with Allstars Gunnar Henderson and Jacob Wilson. Both of those had both those guys had minus two outs above average. Uh and he was nowhere near the bottom of the barrel in terms of uh bad defensive shorts stops. Uh how about some of those bad defensive shorts stops? Uh there was three players with minus 10 outs above average or worse. That included Bo Bashette and JP Crawford. And if you’ve been watching the American League Championship Series, Bo Bashette is injured. Uh but uh those are the starting shorts stops for the uh majority of the year of the two players uh for shortstop in the American League Championship Series. So they’ve been able to uh overcome worse defense, significantly worse defense than Ellie de la Cruz. Um and then there were seven players total with minus six above out above average or worse. So again minus six that’s uh uh quite that’s way more than minus two from Ellie. Those players included Trevor Story, Anthony Vulpe, and Trey Sweeney. All three of those players played shortstop for a team that played in the postseason. Terms of DRS, Elliot ranked 18th out of the 22 qualifying shorts stops in defensive run saves. Little higher threshold for what they consider qualifying, but again, nowhere close to the bottom. The bottom was Bo Bashed at minus 12. Uh Jacob Wilson at minus 10 and Trevor Story at minus 7. All shorts stops, but Wilson’s not a short stop for a team in the playoffs, but Wilson was an all-star uh this season. Uh now the good stuff. Ellie in 2024 had more airs. actually had 29 errors, but he was significantly rated better shortstop. He had plus 14 outs above average. Um, and then in 2023, he had plus one. So, his career plus 13 outs above average in his first two and about a half seasons in the big leagues. Also, this is something I found very interesting looking through the numbers. Ellie got better defensively as the year went on. Let’s look at these numbers here. So, in April, Ellie was minus three outs above average. that in May he was minus one, June minus one, July he was plus two, August he was a clean zero in September. So factoring everything in from May on Ellie was a plus defender. He was plus one outs above average. Uh and then as the season went on he got better from July on he was plus four. Uh and again I think that quad injury probably that’s a pretty reasonable explanation for why he had the worst month defensively uh of that minus three. Um, and so yeah, I think the injury played a big part of it. I also do think uh that just the overall being tired, we’ve talked about a lot. I think the Reds need to give him more days off, at least days off in the field, keep him more fresh. Um, I think probably if he kept more fresh, there’s a probably good chance that those numbers in August and September that were okay, maybe a little better than okay in September, plus two, probably much better than that, maybe plus four and he starts racking up some additional plays. I don’t think you’re going to cut out the errors completely from Ellie. I think maybe an ideal word maybe cuts that down to like 20 next season. I think that’d be a pretty good number and then he makes more of these spectacular plays. Um but overall again comparing him to other shorts stops not even remotely a problem uh for the Reds. Uh another note of this uh Spencer Steer was a Gold Glow finalist. We already talked about that and for good reason. in his range. As I mentioned, very good at first base this season. But he did have one major flaw, and that was scooping the ball. Out of the 18 qualifying first baseman, Spencer Seir ranked dead last with only eight successful scoops. For comparison’s sake, Paul Goldmid and Naylor had nearly similar number of innings. Uh they had 19 scoops each. Pete Alonzo was a leader with 29. So again, I don’t think Spencer Sears should have scooped every single ball that Ellie threw. a little wildly, but I think you probably would have liked a first baseman to scoop more. Uh, I mean, I think Josh Naylor and Paul Goldsman aren’t necessarily known as elite great defensive first baseman. Well, they scooped 19 compared to Steers eight. So, get a couple more um scoops. Maybe some of those numbers outs above average look a little better. I don’t believe above average actually includes scoops at all. Um, and I think some of those errors get saved. So again, I don’t think it’s as big of a deal, certainly as a lot of other people do. But let’s move on to the other points. Number two, at least it was only 23 years old in 2025. Committed 26 errors in 158 games on the field. How about Hall of Famer Barry Larkin? He committed 29 errors, playing in 148 games in 1988. Lark was in his age 24 season. Technically his fourth season in the big leagues, although the first two he did not play a whole lot, but this is technically the fourth season that he stepped out onto a Major League Baseball field. Um he was tied for the most heirs of any shortstop in Major League Baseball that season. Larkin of course went to Mhler High School, played three seasons at Michigan. And how about this? Larkin actually played more minor league games at shortstop than LA Cruz did. Ellie de la Cruz is a player that that didn’t come from uh Mhler High School by any stretch. Ellie’s only guy that should get better. And again, this is not a knock on Barry Larkin. He ended up being a Hall of Famer, but he had a bad season. And uh um I don’t I don’t know how like he would compare with outs. I imagine Lurin probably did make some some spectacular plays. The advantage that Ellie has, the Lurkin doesn’t, is that we have metrics that actually quantify that and say that he really wasn’t that bad. Number three, how do the Reds field a better team with Ellie off of shortstop? All right, so Ellie is not your shortstop. You’re moving him to center field. I think that’s what most people want. Some people want right field, whatever. Matt Mlan is your shortstop. The guy that I think most people that want Ellie to move didn’t want playing. He has to play shorts stop right now, right? Unless you’re adding someone. We’ll get to that in a second. So, Mlan plays shortstop. Gavin Lux plays second base. Ellie’s in center field. You’re moving TJ Fredel to left field. Does that make a better roster? You know, you’re forced to play Mlan. There’s no Mlan struggles. You play Gavin Lux. Gavin Lux, although he technically can play shortstop, I don’t think anyone in the right mind would put him at shortstop. Gavin Lux would be a lesser defender at second base than Mlan. And TJ Fel’s been a competent center fielder. I just don’t see how that makes the Reds better in 2026. The other option, uh, go out and set a free agent. Okay, so your free agent that the Reds could probably realistically afford would be Isaiah Ker Falafa, a below average hitter. So you want a below average hitter at shortstop for a team that already was below average. Mlan playing second base, Ellie in center field, Fredo and left. Again, I just don’t see how that makes the Reds better in 2026. Number four, there’s a bigger injury risk in center field, especially for a player that plays the game like Ellie de la Cruz. I mean, the last win of the season, Ellie Dea Cruz knocked over Kabrian Hayes at third base. Could you imagine Ellie Dea Cruz running in and chasing down balls in center field? I mean, I maybe everyone would just learn to just get out of his way. Uh, but there’s a lot of more risk of collisions. Uh, how about Ellie running full speed towards the wall? You really want Ellie the Cruz, the hope of our franchise crashing into a wall to make a play? I don’t I don’t I don’t think that helps him at all. Uh, last one, and this is an interesting one. I think a lot of people are going to disagree with me on, but I’m going to bring it up anyways. I think there is a risk and it’s it’s a maybe a small risk but it’s a risk that you move Taylor Cruz off shortstop and it could strain your relationship with the superstar. A player I’d like to bring up is O’Neal Cruz. Did not seem to take well to that in Pittsburgh when they moved him to center field. Um and uh he had a really bad year offensively in his age 26 season. He only had 86 WRC plus last year. Is that related to him and the bad vibes in center field? I don’t know. Maybe. But it certainly didn’t help anything with the Pirates and their relationship with Lono Cruz. And obviously LA Taylor Cruz is gonna make a lot more money playing shortstop when he gets a free agency. So you’re going to annoy him at least with that. Elliott might be the biggest team guy, but I mean we’re talking 50 60 70 hundred million dollar difference of in free agency. It’s a pretty big deal. So, is it worth it to maybe put him out in center field and maybe he’s better? There’s no guarantee that Ellie de La Cruz would be better in center field. Ellie could really struggle at uh uh reading balls off the bat. Yeah, speed would make up for a lot of it, but there’s no guarantee that he’s going to be just a perfect center fielder. I mean, he’s a flawed shortstop in some ways, and he’s been playing shortstop every year for the last, I don’t know, five, six years. So again, I just don’t see uh the advantages of this at all right now. Maybe when a guy like Edwin Aoyo comes up and you feel like he is a legit bonafide ready to be shortstop and he improves defensively as well because he’s a little shaky right now, but I think has a higher ceiling than even a player of Ellie de la Cruz defensively. Maybe when he does come up and if Ellie de la Cruz has another really bad year airwise and you don’t see any of the outs above average or defensive runs saved significantly improve, that’s maybe when I could see it. But right now going into 2026, I think it would be absolutely crazy to move him. I’m glad the Reds have already kind of put a line in the sand and said that’s not happening. Ellie de la Cruz your shorts stop in 2026 and uh the Reds are a lot better for it and uh I hope that Ellie can be the Ellie de la Cruz that we saw offensively from April through July and maybe the guy defensively that we saw from July through September. Put that together that’s an MVP candidate in Ellie Day L Cruz. All right. All right. Well, thanks so much for listening today to me yapping about LA de la Cruz. Um, as always, if you are watching on YouTube, hit that like button. We would really appreciate that. Make sure you’re subscribed. We’re close to 20,000 subscribers. I think we’re just a couple hundred away. Last time I checked on YouTube, so make sure you’re subscribed. All kinds of great content here on ChatterBox Sports. We cover the Bengals full game live streams of every Bengals game. Fells go live 30 minutes before the game. They’re live during the whole game, uh, breaking it down, talking about it, chatting with the people in the chat. Uh, they come on at halftime, do a halftime show, and then a postgame show. So, all Bengals content, Chatterbox Bengals, uh, they play a Thursday night game. So, I think they’ll be live about 7:45. Uh, and they’ll be on on all night long. Chatterbox Bearcats heating up. I know the Bearcats football rank to the top 25. Shout out to them. 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Nick Kirby gives 5 reasons why Elly De La Cruz should be the Cincinnati Reds shortstop in 2026, and why the team is correct by keeping him there instead of moving him to the outfield. Nick also discusses recent Reds news including Ke’Bryan Hayes and Spencer Steer being Gold Glove finalists, third base coach JR House leaving the Reds for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Carlos Jorge debuting in the Dominican Winter League and Cam Collier, Rhett Lowder, Alfredo Duno and more in the Arizona Fall League.

Elly De La Cruz stepped off the field after the Cincinnati Reds’ heartbreaking Wild Card exit on October 1, 2025, a bitter pill after a season that promised so much yet delivered just enough to tease the potential of a franchise cornerstone. At 23, the switch-hitting shortstop from Sabana Grande de Boyá, Dominican Republic, remains the electrifying heartbeat of a young Reds squad hungry for its first sustained playoff run since 2013. The 2025 campaign was a tale of two Ellys: the explosive All-Star who dazzled with raw power and blistering speed, and the streaky talent who grappled with consistency, injuries, and the grind of a full 162-game slate. As he dives into his third offseason, De La Cruz carries the weight of unmet expectations—and the boundless optimism of a player still ascending.

Reflecting on the year, De La Cruz’s numbers paint a portrait of tantalizing upside laced with frustration. He slashed .264/.333/.439 across 147 games, belting 22 home runs and driving in 86 runs while crossing the plate 97 times. His 35 stolen bases, though a dip from his MLB-leading 67 in 2024, still showcased that rare blend of thunder and lightning, making him a perennial basepath terror. Defensively, he anchored shortstop with 59 extra-base hits, but the glove work that earned him Gold Glove whispers as a rookie faltered. A -7 Outs Above Average and 12 errors highlighted lapses in reads and footwork, costing the Reds precious runs in tight NL Central battles. The physical toll was evident: a hamstring tweak in May, a quadriceps niggle in August, and the emotional blow of losing his sister, Genelis, in late spring. Yet, he played through it all, honoring her with a homer the next day and grinding out an .830 OPS through the All-Star break that earned him his second Midsummer Classic nod.

The Reds’ 2025 arc mirrored De La Cruz’s own: a scorching start that vaulted them into contention, followed by a midseason stutter and a late surge that snagged the final Wild Card spot. His two-run blast in Game 2 against the Dodgers—a 436-foot moonshot that briefly ignited Great American Ball Park—encapsulated the heartbreak. Cincinnati fell in two games, but De La Cruz called the experience “fun,” a crash course in October intensity. “We know how it is now,” he said post-elimination. “Next year, we’re gonna come prepared to do something special.” That mindset, paired with his unwavering clubhouse presence, underscores why he’s indispensable. The Reds mean “the world” to him, and he to them—a beacon for prospects like Sal Stewart and Rhett Lowder, who’ll orbit his energy in 2026.Heading into the offseason, De La Cruz’s blueprint is laser-focused: refinement without reinvention. The front office, led by Nick Krall, has reaffirmed his role at shortstop, quashing whispers of an outfield shift despite defensive hiccups. “He’s our guy,” Krall declared, emphasizing a full offseason to polish fundamentals. De La Cruz echoes that, prioritizing plate discipline and contact. His 2025 strikeout rate hovered around 25%, a remnant of his free-swinging youth, but tweaks—a taller, more open stance and smoother load—aim to boost his batting average toward .280. Hitting coach Chris Valaika stresses “aggressive but controlled” swings, channeling that elite exit velocity (91 mph average) into fewer whiffs and more line drives. Off the field, expect a Boras-led regimen echoing last winter’s: high-intensity conditioning with stars like Juan Soto, blending yoga for flexibility, sprint drills for burst, and weighted-ball sessions to amp power. He’ll winter in the Dominican Republic, honing throws with legends like Barry Larkin, who caught him shagging flies in Goodyear. Personal goals? Cut errors to single digits, steal 50 bags, and eclipse 25 homers—milestones that could vault him into MVP chatter.

The broader Reds ecosystem buzzes with synergy. New manager Terry Francona, who bonded with De La Cruz over daily Spanish lessons (“Nunca te rindas”—never give up), envisions him as the “best player on the best team.” Budget talks loom, but extensions for arms like Nick Lodolo take precedence over De La Cruz’s, with his camp eyeing free agency post-2029. For now, that’s distant noise; he’s locked in through arbitration, a Super Two candidate next winter.