From 105 mph outfield assists to home run streaks, Cincinnati's electrifying shortstop is delivering a generational performance that could command the next billion-dollar baseball contract.
When Dane Myers wasn’t able to come up with the catch on Teoscar Hernández’s line drive in the third inning, the ball inevitably rolled past him to the center-field wall. Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz likely began getting excited about the throw he knew he’d get the opportunity to make.
As Hernández rolled around second base, De La Cruz glanced home in an effort to align himself with home plate to make the most natural throw from short center field. The catch, the exchange, and a 105 mph throw led to Jose Trevino tagging out Hernández at the plate in a play that wasn’t even close.
In the top half of the inning, De La Cruz stepped into the right-handed batter’s box to face Dodgers ace Tarik Skubal. On the first pitch of the at-bat, De La Cruz hit a changeup 444 feet deep into the left-field seats, admiring his work and also executing a major bat flip.
In the top of the inning, he tied it; in the bottom of the inning, he kept it that way, as Dodgers play-by-play commentator Joe Davis said.
De La Cruz has hit home runs in four straight games, becoming the first Red to accomplish that feat since he did it himself in June of 2025. De La Cruz quietly put together the best season of his career for much of the year, but now he's leaving no doubt about his impact on both offense and defense.
He is hitting .283 with 25 home runs, 69 runs batted in, and an .868 OPS.
De La Cruz, coincidentally, did all this in front of a crowd of people who could likely imagine De La Cruz playing for their team. He has previously called Los Angeles “his city” in interviews with Jim Day after games early in his career.
With every play De La Cruz makes that reminds fans how dangerous he can be, the reality that fans need to savor these moments stays top of mind. The likelihood of De La Cruz spending his career with the Reds is low, as he’s turned down the biggest contract in Reds history, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic.
The only hope of Cincinnati being able to hold on to De La Cruz is a new CBA that includes a salary cap, as a franchise will likely give him a Shohei Ohtani-like deal to make him one of the highest-paid players in baseball.
