Elly De La Cruz injury leaves Reds staring down their worst nightmare

The injury news for the Cincinnati Reds has been hot and heavy over the past week, but during Sunday's series finale against the Atlanta Braves, they lost their most irreplaceable player. Elly De La Cruz appeared to injure himself heading to first base during the bottom of the fifth inning and was removed from the game with the Reds leading 3-2.

De La Cruz appeared to have injured his leg — perhaps his hamstring — after racing out of the batters' box following a would-be double. Instead of advancing to second base, he was observed slowing down as he approached first and was obviously limping.

Reds manager Terry Francona emerged from the Cincinnati dugout and immediately made the decision to lift his superstar shortstop from the game. Matt McLain, who began the game on the bench, came on to run for De La Cruz and replaced him at shortstop for the remainder of the game.

Reds superstar Elly De La Cruz exits vs. Braves with apparent leg injury

The Reds provided an update during the top of the sixth inning, stating that De La Cruz left the game with right hamstring tightness. Most fans will remember that De La Cruz battled through a hamstring injury last season, and it greatly effected his performance after the All-Star break.

De La Cruz played all 162 games for the Reds last season, and prior to the start of the 2026 campaign, Francona said that he was going to give him more days off. Outside of two starts as the team's DH, De La Cruz hasn't received any time away from shortstop.

Depending on the severity of the injury, the Reds may be forced to place De La Cruz on the injured list for the first time in his Major League career. The organizations top infield prospect, Edwin Arroyo, has gotten off to an unbelievable start at Triple-A this season, and would be the obvious choice if De La Cruz's injury results in an IL-stint.

De La Cruz has been among the best players in the league this season, and was among the NL MVP front runners. Further testing will obviously be necessary to determine the severity of his injury, but it's a good bet that Arroyo is in a car on his way to Cincinnati right now.

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