Elly De La Cruz All-Star snub gets even worse after shocking Shohei Ohtani replacement choice

This is outrageous!

Drew Koch

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly de la Cruz (44) walks off the field / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In case you missed it, Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani will miss this year's All-Star Game. Ohtani has been battling a knee injury for nearly a month, and will receive treatment during the break rather than traveling to Philadelphia for the All-Star festivities.

With Ohtani opting out, the door was open wide for Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz to take his rightful spot on the NL All-Star roster. The Reds already had two participants (Chase Burns and Sal Stewart) in the mix for this year's Midsummer Classic, but De La Cruz's performance this season was more than deserving of his third straight trip to the All-Star Game.

Shockingly, however, St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Iván Herrera was named Ohtani's injury replacement and will be part of the National League squad on Tuesday night at Citizen's Bank Park.

Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz was just snubbed for the All-Star Game all over again

A side-by-side comparison of the stats shows that there's literally no contest between De La Cruz and Herrera. Even though he missed about a month due to a hamstring injury, De La Cruz still has more home runs (15), RBI (44), and stolen bases (13) than the Cardinals designated hitter. The only meaningful statistic that Herrera can boast about is his on-base percentage (.386 OBP), which is slightly higher than De La Cruz's (.345 OBP).

Elly De La Cruz	Iván Herrera
3.0 fWAR	1.6 fWAR
125 wRC+	124 wRC+
15 HR	11 HR
44 RBI	40 RBI
.842 OPS	.782 OPS

De La Cruz should've made the team outright, but was left out of the mix — in part due to the maddening fan vote that decides each All-Star starter. CJ Abrams, who's deserving of an All-Star nod this season, will start at shortstop for the National League this coming Tuesday in Philly. Presumably, Miami Marlins' infielder Otto Lopez will be Abrams' backup.

Perhaps there's a silver lining, however. With De La Cruz not participating in the Midsummer Classic next week, he'll have a brief respite and should enter the second-half of the season fully healthy.

It's been a disappointing start to the 2026 campaign for the Reds, but a healthy De La Cruz and Hunter Greene might be enough to make things interesting after the All-Star break. At the moment, the Reds look like sellers with the MLB trade deadline approaching, but things can change on a dime, and winning streak following this year's All-Star Game could change Cincinnati's direction during the second-half.

Drew Koch

Drew Koch has been an MLB Staff Writer since January 2024 and part of the FanSided Network since June 2018. Drew's contributions have been published on Blog Red Machine, Friars on Base, BoSox Injection, Lombardi Avenue, Wildcat Blue Nation, Motor City Bengals, and many other sites within the FanSided Network. When he's not cheering wildly for the Cincinnati Reds or the Kentucky Wildcats, Drew enjoys fishing, golfing, playing cribbage and other card games, listening to country and classical music, and spending time with his family and friends.