Elly De La Cruz Injured, Latest Update on Reds Star's Hamstring and Timeline to Return

Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz has been placed on the injured list after exiting Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves with a hamstring injury after he singled to start the bottom of the fifth.

De La Cruz exited after he "came up hopping rounding first base" on a hit in the gap. He surely would have ended up with extra bases given where the ball was placed had he remained healthy, but he was in obvious pain.

The Red announced he left with "right hamstring tightness." After an MRI on Monday, he was diagnosed with a hamstring strain.

In a corresponding roster move, the promoted No. 3 prospect Edwin Arroyo. The 22-year-old—who was part of the 2022 Luis Castillo trade—is slashing .323/.383/.562 with 11 home runs, 34 RBI and nine stolen bases for Triple-A Louisville this season.

After the Reds' 6-4 win, De La Cruz and manager Terry Francona updated the situation:

Matt McClain pinch ran for De La Cruz and ended up scoring a run on Eugenio Suárez's sacrifice fly.

De La Cruz has been a steady presence in Cincinnati's lineup of late and appeared in 160 games in 2024 and all 162 games in 2025. What's more, he has played in all 58 of the team's games this season.

Yet that streak appears in serious jeopardy following this setback.

Cincinnati does not get a day off after finishing the three-game series against the Braves and will host the Kansas City Royals for a three-game set starting Monday. 

De La Cruz is the face of the franchise for the current iteration of the Reds and was a back-to-back All-Star the past two years. He has played well this season as well and entered Sunday's contest slashing .274/.339/.504 with 12 home runs, 37 RBI and nine stolen bases.

With De La Cruz sidelined, the Reds will now hope Arroyo and Co. can produce enough on offense to stay in the mix as the team waits for its star to get healthy.