Reds have a growing Elly De La Cruz problem Terry Francona promised to fix

Elly De La Cruz is struggling through a 2-for-34 slump and committed two errors in Sunday's game against Miami, raising questions about whether rest would help the Reds shortstop. Manager Terry Francona promised during the offseason to give De La Cruz occasional days off after playing him heavily last season, but has not followed through, partly because De La Cruz missed nearly a month with a hamstring injury in June. The Reds face a demanding stretch with an 18-game schedule over 17 days, including a doubleheader Monday against St. Louis, where De La Cruz is expected to start both games. With Cincinnati's playoff odds at 0.2%, Francona could move De La Cruz to designated hitter while shifting other infielders to shortstop, though the team's limited roster depth makes removing their star difficult.

Summary written by MLB Feed Network based on the original reporting. How we write summaries