Reds fans shouldn't be outraged with Terry Francona's smart Elly De La Cruz decision

It's been trending this way all spring, so most fans shouldn't be surprised. But during an appearance with Thom Brennaman on Chatterbox Sports, Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona revealed that Elly De La Cruz will bat third in the lineup.

"He's going to hit third," Francona told Brennaman. "He wants to hit third. I like that. I like the idea of McLain hitting in front of him. I really like the idea of Hays hitting behind him...So that helps there too, because you've got to protect Elly."

Social media has been abuzz for weeks about how Francona will fill out his lineup card on Opening Day. Now we know that TJ Friedl will lead off and be followed by Matt McLain, De La Cruz, and Austin Hays. You can probably assume that when Tyler Stephenson is behind the plate that he'll bat fifth, and some combination of Christian Encarnacion, Gavin Lux, and Jeimer Candelario will follow from there.

Reds fans shouldn't be outraged with Terry Francona's smart Elly De La Cruz decision

Traditional baseball fans should love this idea. For years, teams would always slot their best hitter third in the lineup. Longtime Reds first baseman and former NL MVP Joey Votto hit in the No. 3 hole for the majority of his career.

But a new era of fans favor a more analytical approach to the game that suggests putting your best hitter in the leadoff spot, and in doing so he'll get the most opportunities to hit. That's not necessarily the worst idea, and the reasoning is sound, but Francona sees things differently.

By surrounding De La Cruz to two right-handed bats — and likely the right-handed hitting Stephenson batting fifth — opposing managers aren't going to be able to turn the Reds shortstop around without facing some consequences. While De La Cruz has looked good hitting from the right-handed batters' box this spring, his numbers were not that impressive while batting right-handed last season.

Francona also mentioned that during his time in Cleveland, he'd always slot the team's hottest hitter behind Jose Ramirez (who was always batting third for the Guardians). So don't be shocked, as the season moves along, to see Francona move a couple players in and out of the lineup behind De La Cruz if Hays starts off slowly this season.

De La Cruz is expected to be in the mix for the NL MVP this season, and Reds fans should trust an experienced manager like Francona to make the correct decision when it comes to the the best bat in his lineup. Tito's done this before. It's not like we're talking about David Bell, you know?

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