Cincinnati Reds Star Elly De La Cruz Earns Prestigious MLB Honor After Career Year

Good for him!

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly de la Cruz (44) runs the bases after hitting a home run in the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Colorado Rockies at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Reds announced on Wednesday night that Elly De La Cruz was named to the All-MLB Second Team at shortstop as part of the 2026 All-MLB Awards.

"De La Cruz posted his best season in the majors this year, becoming just the fourth player in Reds history to reach 30-plus homers and 30-plus stolen bases in the same season," the Reds sent out in an email to fans. "Elly finished with a .283/.365/.515 slash line to go along with 30 homers, 30 doubles, 99 runs scored, 72 RBIs and 30 steals."

Surprisingly enough, De La Cruz was not an All-Star this season. An argument definitely could have been made that he deserved to be, but there is also no denying that he played his best baseball in the second half of the season.

After slashing .274/.347/.492 with 33 extra-base hits in the first half of the season, he went on an absolute heater in the second half, slashing .293/.385/.543 with 32 extra-base hits.

De La Cruz's 5.5 bWAR and .880 OPS were both the highest of his career. The 24-year-old has been asked to shoulder a lot of the offensive load for Cincinnati throughout his four years in the big leagues. That's probably not entirely fair to him, and the Reds certainly need to do a better job of putting more talent around him. Regardless, it's great to see De La Cruz get the recognition he deserves and be honored among MLB's best players.

Nick Krall Knows the Reds Have Plenty of Holes to Fill

President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall takes questions during an event to introduce the new manager of the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Reds have a lot of holes to fill this offseason and Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall knows he has work to do.

“We need to add some more starting pitching," Krall told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "We’ve got to find a catcher, whether it’s Tyler [Stephenson] or a replacement for Tyler. We need to bolster our bullpen and rework the guys we have in there and figure out how we can get better.”

It feels like the current roster is a long way from being able to compete for a championship, or maybe even make the postseason. The Reds haven't won a postseason series since 1995 and haven't won a postseason game since 2012. At this point, fans don't want to hear any more excuses, and rightfully so. It's on Nick Krall, the front office, and ownership to figure out how to put a winning team on the field.