| Elly De La Cruz | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) De La Cruz with the Louisville Bats in 2023 | |
| Cincinnati Reds – No. 44 | |
| Shortstop / Third baseman | |
| Born: January 11, 2002 Sabana Grande de Boyá, Dominican Republic | |
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 6, 2023, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics (through 2023 season) | |
| Batting average | .235 |
| Home runs | 13 |
| Runs batted in | 44 |
| Stolen bases | 35 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Elly Antonio De La Cruz (born January 11, 2002) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He signed with the Reds as an international free agent in 2018, and made his MLB debut in 2023.
Early life[edit]
De La Cruz grew up in Sabana Grande de Boyá, in the Dominican Republic.[1] He has eight older siblings.[1]
Career[edit]
Minor leagues[edit]
On July 2, 2018, De La Cruz signed with the Cincinnati Reds as an international free agent.[2][3] He received a $65,000 signing bonus.[4]
De La Cruz made his professional debut in 2019 with the Dominican Summer League Reds at 17 years of age, hitting .285/.351/.382 with one home run and three steals (while being caught six times) in 43 games, playing primarily shortstop.[5][6] He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] In 2021, De La Cruz played for the rookie–level Arizona Complex League Reds and Single–A Daytona Tortugas (with whom his seven triples were second in the Low-A Southeast). He played in 61 games and batting a cumulative .296/.336/.539 with eight home runs, 42 runs batted in (RBIs), and 10 stolen bases (while being caught five times), playing primarily third base.[6][8] Baseball America named him the best player in the Arizona Complex League, the fourth-best player in the Low-A Southeast League, and the best athlete and fastest baserunner in the Reds' organization.[9]
