Elly De La Cruz enjoyed a breakout season with the Cincinnati Reds in 2023 after first joining the club's farm system back in 2018 and then making his team debut in June of this past year. De La Cruz produced several highlights throughout the campaign, leading Reds fans to have significant hope for the future even as the team hasn't been able to produce a ton of wins in the present.

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Some speculation has arisen as to where Cincinnati will opt to use De La Cruz this coming season, as he spent time in multiple different infield locations throughout this past campaign, but it appears that the team now has its answer as training camp commences.

“De La Cruz, 22, will be more fixed at shortstop. Matt McLain, who played both shortstop and second base last season, is targeted for second. The incumbent second baseman, Jonathan India, will need to be flexible,” reported Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.

Reds manager David Bell broke down the decision.

“Going into it, Elly is going to play a lot of short,” Bell said, per Sheldon. “Matt's going to play a lot of second, and then everything else we got to kind of let it play out a little. We've already talked to Jonathan about playing multiple positions. Matt would be more mainly second, a little bit of short.”

Among De La Cruz's most notable moments last year was a rare stealing of home plate, among many other electrifying highlights, setting the stage for a highly anticipated 2024 season.