5 reasons why Elly De La Cruz won't make the Reds Opening Day roster

5. The Reds shouldn't waste a year of service time just to get Elly De La Cruz in the lineup.

Yes, we've all seen it before. But if Major League Baseball and the Player's Association failed to really address the problem during the last collective bargaining agreement, you had better believe that teams (especially small market clubs like the Cincinnati Reds) are going to continue to manipulate service time.

Use whatever word you'd like - unfair, manipulative, sneaky, underhanded, etc. However, at the end of the day, baseball is a business. And manipulation of service time can be a wise decision on the part of several major league clubs.

Fans saw the Reds manipulate Nick Senzel's service time before calling him up to the big leagues. Rather than add Senzel to the 2019 Opening Day roster, the club went with Scott Schebler as the center fielder that year.

Senzel ended up injuring his ankle later in spring training, but the decision to start their top prospect at Triple-A had already been made. Then, after Schebler struggled mightily and Senzel began to rehab his injury, it miraculously took the former first-rounder a mere eight games to prove himself in the minors.

Almost every fan knows that Cincinnati Reds are not going to be very competitive in 2023. So why start Elly De La Cruz's service time clock before the team could actually benefit from it? It may be a bit deceitful, but it's a smart business decision.