After vital off-day, Elly De La Cruz is back in the Reds starting lineup

It's been a tough week for Elly De La Cruz. Heck, it's been a tough couple of months. The Cincinnati Reds rookie has really been scuffling of late.

De La Cruz burst onto the scene back in June, but has come back to earth a bit. Since the All-Star break, De La Cruz is tied for the major league-lead in strikeouts and is hitting just .179/.263/.328.

De La Cruz's lack of success in the batters' box seems to have carried over to the field as well. The 21-year-old has committed 13 errors on the season, with the majority coming in the last two months.

After vital off-day, Elly De La Cruz is back in the Reds starting lineup

David Bell was able to give Elly De La Cruz a much-needed day off on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins. De La Cruz was out of the Cincinnati Reds starting lineup with fellow rookie Noelvi Marte handling shortstop duties for the series finale against the Twins.

De La Cruz needed a break. He played in 120 games in the minor leagues last season, not to mention the 24 games he played for Licey during the Dominican Winter League. At this time last season, De La Cruz had already hung up his cleats with Double-A Chattanooga's 2022 season ending on September 17th.

But today, De La Cruz is back in Bell's lineup, playing shortstop, and batting seventh. Today's start will mark the 91st game that De La Cruz has played in the big leagues and his 129th of the season.

De La Cruz has been the target of some animus this week, including a local news station referring to the shortstop as a bust. While De La Cruz certainly isn't above criticism, a 21-year-old rookie is bound to experience some ups and downs.

Manager David Bell and the Cincinnati Reds faithful are hoping that Elly De La Cruz can get back to the fun-loving, high-powered, electric ball player that they saw back in June. The Reds enter tonight's game within striking distance of the final NL Wild Card spot with eight games to go.