Elly De La Cruz made MLB history during Cincinnati's final regular season series with Toronto.
The Cincinnati Reds have struggled all year long, yet shortstop Elly De La Cruz has given fans a reason to still watch in the month of September. De La Cruz officially joined the 30/30 club on Friday during a loss against the Toronto Blue Jays. He became just the fourth player in franchise history to reach 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a single season.
De La Cruz sealed it in Toronto. He doubled in the third inning of the series opener against the Blue Jays, then swiped third base on the very next pitch for his 30th steal. His 30th home run had come a night earlier against the Atlanta Braves.
He joined Eric Davis, Barry Larkin and Brandon Phillips as the only Reds to post a 30/30 season, and he became the first to reach the mark since Phillips in 2007. He also collected 30 doubles, turning it into an even rarer 30-30-30 campaign.
The 24-year-old switch-hitter has hit .285 with a .367 on-base percentage and an .888 OPS. What makes the milestone more impressive is how he reached it in just 141 total games. De La Cruz missed three weeks earlier in the year with a right hamstring strain, marking the first injured list stint of his career. He did deal with left quad soreness back in 2025, but chose to play through it to give the Reds a chance at making the playoffs.
De La Cruz has crushed nine home runs in September, the most by a switch-hitter in a single month in franchise history. That late surge is what has carried him across the 30-homer line with two games left.
This kind of level from De La Cruz is not fully unprecedented. He led the National League in stolen bases in 2024 with 67 and reached his first All-Star Game that summer, while also hitting 25 and 22 home runs over the previous two seasons, proving the power has always been there.
Still, what was supposed to be a fun night for De La Cruz ended the way most nights have for the Reds this year. Cincinnati carried a 5-2 lead before the bullpen blew it late, and the Reds fell 6-5. The defeat dropped them to 74-86, last in the National League Central, with the club having been eliminated from postseason contention for over a week.
For a rebuilding roster, De La Cruz remains the clear centerpiece. Since debuting in 2023, he has grown into one of the most electric everyday players in baseball. The Reds will head into the winter knowing they have him leading the charge in 2027, though that is not entirely guaranteed.
As a small-market team, Cincinnati may not be able to afford him long-term, and with his value at an all-time high following a 30-30-30 season, the possibility of dealing him away this offseason cannot be ruled out.
