Dateline: Cincinnati
Elly De La Cruz is pushing to play. The shortstop and a big part of the Reds lineup was placed on the injured list on June 1 with a right hamstring strain. The Reds are 3-9 without him.
"Elly is chomping at the bit and we're trying to do what's right," Terry Francona said. "I think it aggravates him. We love the fact that he wants to play."
De La Cruz is taking ground balls and hitting in the cage but the Reds are holding him back so it heals fully.
"We have to defer to the medical people," Francona said.
De La Cruz had a lighter day on Saturday.
"He is going to run the bases today (Monday) and tomorrow," Francona said. "My guess is today will go well. He is doing so well. We will send him out to play over the weekend. Possibly Gwinnett (where Triple A Louisville is scheduled to play), we're still working through that. Triple A is always the best because of the competition but we're trying to figure out what's the easiest. Nobody is at home."
He will go on a rehab assignment rather than come right back into the lineup. The Reds can control the conditions in a minor league game.
"He has been wanting to play for the last week. Me and Freddie (Benevides) sat down and Nap (Mike Napoli) was in here. We've talked to him several times because one thing I don't him to ever feel is one, we're not listening to him and that we don't want him to play. We're dying for him to play. We want to do what's right and not what's convenient. Down deep I think he understands. He just wants to play desperately. I respect that a lot. The idea is to let him play short and we actually talked about putting some innings restrictions. We came to the conclusion to see how active he is."
De La Cruz just wants to play. It is not work to him.
"He doesn't like to come out in blowouts," Francona explained. "I've taken him out of games just to get him off his feet. He just likes to play baseball. That's a good thing."
Closer Emilio Pagan threw a side bullpen session on Saturday (061326). He will throw another one on Tuesday. Pagan was placed on the Injured List on May 6 with a strained left hamstring. Pagan appeared in 16 games before the injury with a 2-1 record and 6.43 ERA. He finished 11 games and earned six saves. The Reds are 13-21 in his absence.
Pierce Johnson threw a side on Sunday and throw another on Friday in New York. He threw to live batters on Monday afternoon. Johnson pitched in 24 games before right elbow inflammation sent him to the injured list on May 30. He hasn't pitched since May 27. To that point he fashioned a 2-1 record with a 3.27 ERA. He finished six games with one save. The Reds are 4-12 since he's been on the IL.
Hunter Greene has been out from the beginning of the season. He had an up and down on Saturday. He will have another one on Friday and will pitch three innings in the Arizona Complex League then pitch on a five-day schedule.
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