Elly De La Cruz is out of the Reds starting lineup for the 2nd time in 3 games

Elly De La Cruz is out of David Bell's starting lineup once again. The Cincinnati Reds manager will instead send Noelvi Marte out as the team's starting shortstop against the New York Mets on Friday night in Queens.

Friday's game will represent the second time in three days that De La Cruz has not been in Cincinnati's starting lineup. De La Cruz wasn't in the lineup on Wednesday night against the Detroit Tigers, but did come on to pinch run in the sixth inning and stole a base.

While this may be a bit surprising to some who don't follow the Reds very closely, for those who do, this isn't terribly shocking at all.

Elly De La Cruz is out of the Reds starting lineup for the 2nd time in 3 games.

Since Jonathan India landed on the injured list at the end of July, Elly De La Cruz has been the defacto everyday shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds.

India's injury forced Matt McLain to shift over to second base, and what had been a shared position between the two rookies turned into De La Cruz's exclusive home since July 29th.

McLain is now on the IL, but with India back and Noelvi Marte now on the active roster, Reds manager David Bell can play the matchups a bit more.

The Mets are sending left-hander David Peterson to the mound on Friday night, and quite frankly, De La Cruz has been horrific against lefties all season. The switch-hitting infielder is 19-for-98 (.194) against southpaws in 2023 and has just five of his 35 extra-base hits against left-handed pitching.

Don't look for Elly De La Cruz to be on the bench very long. If and when the Cincinnati Reds are able to chase Peterson from the game, David Bell will find a way to get his much-hyped rookie infielder into the game.