Dateline: 318 kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico
Matt McLain is back and Elly De La Cruz is happy about it.
McLain missed all of 2024 with a bum left shoulder. He was healthy over the winter, went to the Arizona Fall League to play outfield just to get at bats. It has paid off.
He and De La Cruz are hitting the ball hard and can be seen together in camp all day. The will be the double play combination that was lacking in 2024.
With the bats, they are off to an early fast start.
Manager Terry Francona, cautioned that players get timing at different places in spring training. “Whoever gets hits the first couple games, if they’re young kids, everybody says he’s got the inside track of making the team. They regulars are the guys, who find their timing last because they play every other day,” Francona said. “With Elly, if he gets good pitches to hit, the idea is not to tell the guy, you’ve got to walk more or you’ve got to strike out less. If he swings at good pitches, those things will take care of themselves.”
Francona’s word bears out. McLain is 5-for-11 with two doubles and a home run. All three extra-base hits were against the Los Angeles Angels on February 26. De La Cruz is 5-for-9 with three home runs, and a double. De La Cruz was struck out once and walked twice, he’s made.
Through February 27th. In the field McLain made a diving stop in the first inning, robbing Josh Naylor of a hit. McLain was charged with an error when Geraldo Perdomo’s hard ground ball took a bad hop. After Graham Ascraft threw the ball in the dirt on a potential double play ball. De La Cruz fielded a ground ball by Randall Grichuk into a double play. De La Cruz fielded the ball with his momentum taking him to right field but he flipped to McLain to complete the double play.
“That was gorgeous,” Francona said. “The fact that Elly got to that ball and to turn a double play. That was special.”
“That’s not the goal but if he gets good pitches. If he gets good pitches, he’s going to hit them,” Francona said.
The pair has been working well turning double plays at least on the practice fields.
“I think I know this team well enough that I love the middle infield,” Francona said. “If we struggle, we’ll struggle together and when we figure it out, we’ll figure it out together. I like this group. They’re fun to be around. Those two in the middle have a chance to be special together.”
McLain, who will never be accused of being too wordy, understands what Francona brings to the team.
“He brings the energy; the positive energy,” McLain said. “The standards have been high. The accountability has been high. It’s been great.”
“He is a legend,” De La Cruz said.
The pair bonded on a personal level and Francona noticed it. Especially from McLain after missing all of last year.
“You know what? I give the kid credit. He went to play in the fall league,” Francona said. “I’m not sure everybody does that. He played different positions. People were speculating that we were turning him into a utility player. The rules there are different there (so many games are allocated for each position). We just needed him to go play. He didn’t care where he played. He was glad to do it. Sometimes good things happen to good people.”
“It is like getting a veteran back,” Francona said. “I know he doesn’t have a lot of service time. It doesn’t matter. He’s a baseball player. He throws the ball to the right base. Look how happy Elly is happy he’s here.”
McLain played alongside his brother Sean with the Glendale Desert Dogs. On Monday February 24.opposed each other when the Los Angeles Dodger and Reds hooked up. It was the fourth time including three games in college that they played on opposing teams. Matt attended UCLA. Sean p;ayed at Sean played at Arizona State University. Matt has Thanksgiving day bragging rights with a 4-0 record. Younger brother, Nick, played at Arizona State also. He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the third round of the last draft.
Sean was 1-for-3 with a run scored. Matt was 1-for-3 with an RBI. “It was great. You don’t get that McLain said. “It was really cool. I’ll remember it forever. He let me know. He got a double and he made a nice play. I got a single but we won. I’m still undefeated against him. We played in college. We swept them. It was cool our parents were able to be here and aunt and uncle too. It was cool.”
The McLain brothers live together during spring training.
McLain was really missed by the Reds last season. He is not competing for a job this spring. Second base is his. He is an obvious talent. He was drafted out of Arnold O Beckman High School in the first round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the 25th pick. The Reds made him their first round choice in 2021 after three seasons at UCLA. He spent just two years in the minor leagues before his first big league game on May 15 against the Colorado Rockies.
He hit .290 in 89 games with 23 RBI, four triples and 16 home runs. The left shoulder kept him out of action in 2024.
De La Cruz was signed as a free agent at 17 years old out of the Dominican Republic. The Reds scouts were looking at another player when he caught their attention.
De La Cruz hit .259 last season with 35 doubles, 10 triples and 25 home runs. He led the Major Leagues with 67 stolen bases. He also struck out 218 times.
It is something the Reds would like him to cut down on. They also want him to pick his spots better.
“I told him everything you do on the field is to help us win,” Francona said. “I don’t want them to run just because it’s in their tool box. I told him I want him to be the best player on the best team in baseball.
In turn De La Cruz is teaching Francona, one spanish word or phrase each day.
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