So much for that for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Back in July, the Philadelphia Phillies promoted veteran outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from Triple-A, hoping the veteran would provide a major boost for their lineup.
In fact, one of the biggest reasons why the Phillies did not add a right-handed bat at the MLB trade deadline was because of De La Cruz.
Well, early on, De La Cruz answered the bell, delivering a bunch of clutch hits while owning a 1.022 OPS through 12 games. Was it sustainable? Obviously not, given the fact that he lays claim to a lifetime .253/.297/.404 slash line, but he was a huge help in those moments.
Unfortunately, that feel-good story appears to be nearing its end.
De La Cruz finished August with an .884 OPS, but he slashed just .258/.314/.388 over 35 plate appearances on the month. And now, here in September, De La Cruz's offense has all but abandoned him, as he owns a .590 OPS through eight contests.
The 29-year-old is still batting .303 on the year, but his OPS has dipped to .791, and the free-swinging De La Cruz has walked just four times across 74 trips to the dish.
This is pretty much what most Philadelphia fans expected from De La Cruz, given that they saw him for years in Miami.
The Dominican native definitely has some pop, and he has had some good seasons in the past. He batted .257 with 19 home runs, 32 doubles and 78 RBI for the Marlins in 2023. The following year, he managed 21 homers between Miami and Pittsburgh.
But at his core, De La Cruz is a career .701 OPS hitter, so essentially around league average.
The occasional home-run power is still there, but so is the lack of plate discipline and the less-than-stellar outfield defense.
De La Cruz has represented a better option than the eternally slumping Brandon Marsh for quite some time now, but the honeymoon phase might be over.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Phillies have been in quite an offensive rut themselves in recent weeks, as guys like De La Cruz, Edmundo Sosa and Derek Hill have seen their production take a big hit.
That was expected, but it's happening at the worst possible time with the playoffs just around the corner.
Maybe De La Cruz has another surge in him, and I don't believe the sub-.600 OPS he has posted this month is truly indicative of who he is as a hitter. But neither was the 1.000+ OPS he owned through his first couple of weeks.
The clock may have struck 12 on Bryan De La Cruz.
