Elly De La Cruz Talks Reds Season, Terry Francona and MLB The Show 25 in B/R Interview

The Cincinnati Reds made a splash this offseason by hiring three-time Manager of the Year Terry Francona, and the club's new leader wasted no time setting the bar high for the face of the franchise.

And Elly De La Cruz loved that he did.

"I told him again yesterday, 'I want you to be the best player in baseball on the best team in baseball.' That’s my goal," Francona said in February, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. "And he got a big smile on his face."

That is quite a lofty goal, and De La Cruz is embracing it.

"I'm so grateful that somebody with so many years in the game believes in me like that and wants me to be the best player on the best team," the star shortstop told Bleacher Report on Wednesday. "So now we've got to go and make it happen."

De La Cruz is already on the short list of Major League Baseball's most talented players at 23 years old, and he started proving as much right away. He impressed with 13 home runs and 35 stolen bases in 98 games during his debut in 2023 and then turned the corner into a complete game-changer during the 2024 campaign.

It was in his second season that he made the All-Star Game, led the league in stolen bases (67), and slashed .259/.339/.471 with 25 home runs and 76 RBI. 

Throw in a cannon of an arm at shortstop and some slick fielding skills, and it is clear who the star of the present and the future is for Cincinnati.

That's not to say there isn't room for improvement, as De La Cruz did lead the league in strikeouts (218) and errors (29) last season. But it is not a stretch to suggest he can become one of the very best players in the sport for years to come if he takes strides in those areas while continuing to bring his electrifying speed and power on a daily basis.

And Francona is the manager entrusted with making that happen.

"It feels great working with him," De La Cruz said of his new manager. "He teaches a lot of good stuff and has good communication. I think the team is together and good to go with him."

Cincinnati has been stuck in a pattern of mediocrity since reaching the playoffs during the shortened 2020 campaign and finished in third or fourth place in the National League Central in each of the last four seasons, including when it went 77-85 in 2024.

So it responded by bringing in one of the most respected names in baseball to turn things around in the immediate future. Francona previously managed the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Guardians and has a resume that features two World Series titles and another World Series appearance.

One of those championships was the famous one in 2004 with the Red Sox that broke the Curse of the Bambino drought and included a 3-0 comeback in the American League Championship Series against the rival New York Yankees.

If Cincinnati is going to do anything like that under Francona, it will need De La Cruz healthy and leading the way on the field as he lives up to his potential.

That is why he is keeping his goals simple and straightforward in 2025.

"My individual goal is to be healthy the whole season and be able to play every day," he said. "That's what I want."

Playing the entire season would be more of the same for the shortstop after he appeared in 160 games in 2024. But it would also mean needing some time to rest at some point, which could come during the All-Star break.

After all, he declined an invite to the Home Run Derby last season and told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer, "I don't want to do it right now. At some point in my career, yeah. But not right now."

So could we see him participate this year?

"I don't know yet," he said while laughing.

Fear not, though, baseball fans. You can still lead De La Cruz to a virtual Home Run Derby title in MLB The Show 25, which launched its standard edition on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch on Tuesday.

De La Cruz is part of the first ever trio of cover athletes in the game's history. The Reds star joined Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes and Baltimore Orioles slugger Gunnar Henderson on the cover of this year's edition.

"I was so excited," De La Cruz said when discussing his initial reaction to finding out he would be on the cover. "It was something that made me happy, and I'm so excited to share the cover with those guys. I'm so grateful to be one of the faces of the game."

This year's MLB The Show features increased on-field realism with new player animations as well as an updated Road To The Show mode that includes The Amateur Years of high school and college before reaching baseball's biggest stage.

And one of the cover athletes is ready to take on all challengers.

"I can't wait to play against anybody," De La Cruz said of MLB The Show. "I don't think anybody can beat me."

In a perfect world for the Reds, nobody will be able to beat them on the field in a wide-open NL Central this year either.

It is arguably the most wide open division in baseball considering the reigning-champion Milwaukee Brewers lost shortstop Willy Adames and pitcher Devin Williams this offseason. They also finished last season with 93 wins, which was the fewest victories for a division winner in the National League.

There also isn't a financial powerhouse in the NL Central that went out and loaded its roster like the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

According to Spotrac, the Chicago Cubs have the highest payroll in the division, but even they are a middling 12th and not nearly as high as logic would dictate for a franchise that plays in an iconic location with its own television channel that Forbes ranked as the fourth-most valuable in the league.

Elsewhere the St. Louis Cardinals are 19th, Reds are 22nd, Brewers are 24th and Pirates are 26th.

The division could belong to anyone this year, and Cincinnati has a new proven manager and De La Cruz likely just entering his peak as one of the best players in the league leading the way. The opportunity is there to break a playoff drought, and the shortstop made it clear that is what the team has in mind.

"Yeah," he said. "We're working together toward the season. That's what we want, to make the playoffs and win it all."

That's just what Reds fans want to hear.