Reds lineup change reveals Terry Francona’s patience with Matt McLain is wearing thin

The Cincinnati Reds offense has been horrible for the better part of a week, and it's cost the team dearly in the standings. Cincinnati enters the upcoming series against the Chicago White Sox having lost five of seven on the road trip, and manager Terry Francona has seen enough. Ahead of Tuesday's game against the White Sox, Francona bumped second baseman Matt McLain from second in the batting order all the way down to eighth.

TJ Friedl will still bat leadoff and is followed by third baseman Santiago Espinal. Elly De La Cruz will bat third and be followed by cleanup hitter Austin Hays. Tyler Stephenson will be hanging the signs for Tuesday's starter Andrew Abbott whiling batting fifth, and Spencer Steer will hit sixth. Gavin Lux will be tonight's DH batting seventh and is followed by McLain and finally right fielder Connor Joe.

This is a major, but necessary shakeup for the Reds lineup. McLain, who was supposed to be one of the Reds most dependable bats, has been exactly the opposite. On the season, the former first-round draft pick is hitting an embarrassing .165/.299/.298 with five home runs and 15.

Reds lineup change reveals Terry Francona’s patience with Matt McLain is wearing thin

Were it not for McLain's hot start, his numbers would be even worse. The Reds' infielder began the season hitting .313 with a 1.326 OPS and three straight games with a home run. But since that time, McLain's numbers have bottomed out and he's hitting a paltry .143/.286/.200 with only two extra-base hits over 29 games and 105 at-bats.

McLain hasn't been the only player struggling at the dish. De La Cruz leads the National League in strikeouts, and Steer still hasn't gotten untracked this season. Friedl's bat has picked up of late, but injuries to Jake Fraley, Noelvi Marte, and others haven't allowed for Cincy's lineup to develop any type of consistency or continuity this season.

If Francona's lineup change gets more runners on base ahead of De La Cruz — something both Friedl and Espinal are adept at doing — it'll give the Reds more opportunities to drive runners in. But if De La Cruz continues to swing wildly at pitches outside the strike zone, or gets squeezed by the home plate umpire, it's not going to matter what happens with the top spots in the Reds batting order.

There's no better opponent for the Reds to face this week than the White Sox. With the franchise in full-on rebuild mode, Cincinnati should have no problem taking the series from the South Siders. Reds fans can only hope that this change will jumpstart McLain and the other struggling bats in the Cincinnati lineup.

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