Elly De La Cruz

Professional baseball shortstop

Dominican Sabana Grande de Boyá, Dominican Republic

Elly De La Cruz turned down a record contract offer from the Reds during spring training in 2025, choosing to continue toward arbitration eligibility rather than accept the club's largest offer in franchise history. The report said the deal would have been the biggest in team history, and his decision left his future contract status unresolved.

The Reds said De La Cruz played through a significant partial quad tear during the 2025 season, which may have contributed to a second-half decline in production. He appeared in all 162 games, and the club expects him to enter 2026 healthy after the injury was revealed in a postseason update.

De La Cruz played shortly after learning of the death of his sister Genelis. The AP report described the emotional impact on him before the game, and he still went on to homer that day for the Reds.