<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/mike-yastrzemski-walk-off-passes-red-sox-legendary-grandfather');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mike Yastrzemski walk-off passes Red Sox legendary grandfather');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mike-Yastrzemski-cover.jpg"></figure><h1>Mike Yastrzemski walk-off passes Red Sox legendary grandfather</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-09T19:42:02-07:00">April 9th, 7:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-09T19:42:02-07:00">April 9th, 7:42pm</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He's a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic. In addition to sports writing, he works for Arizona Football in the Player Personnel and Recruiting department and formerly served as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Mike Yastrzemski gave the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/giants-news-justin-verlander-special-silver-lining-home-debut-dud">San Francisco Giants a thrilling send-off on Wednesday</a> — and carved out a special moment in his own family history. With the game tied in the 10th inning and Matt Chapman starting on second base, Yastrzemski <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/04/09/giants-rally-from-five-run-deficit-and-beat-reds-in-10th-inning/" rel="noopener">launched a first-pitch fastball</a> from Reds reliever Emilio Pagán into McCovey Cove, delivering an 8-6 walk-off win over Cincinnati.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="pl">MIKE YASTRZEMSKI WALKS IT OFF 💦</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSGiants?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBCSGiants</a>)<a href="https://t.co/p21DICJUEM">pic.twitter.com/p21DICJUEM</a></p><p>— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/BRWalkoff/status/1910098452781957336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It marked the sixth walk-off hit of Yastrzemski’s career, and more notably, his fifth via home run — surpassing the total of his Hall of Fame grandfather, Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski. Yaz’s blast, which he called a promised “Splash Hit” to his daughter Quinley, was his third career homer to land in the Cove — and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/giants-news-willy-adames-hero-epic-giants-home-debut">gave the Giants their third walk-off win in six games.</a></p><p>“It’s getting ridiculous at this point,” Yastrzemski joked about his daughter’s growing expectations. “Just wanted to keep this flight happy, you know. Keep everybody going in the right direction.”</p><p>The dramatic win capped a wild game for the Giants, who rallied from a five-run deficit to split the series with the Reds and improve to 9-3 on the season. They now head out on a 10-game road trip that begins Friday against the Yankees.</p><h2><b>The Giants are rolling early on in the season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mike-Yastrzemski.jpg"><figcaption>Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Things looked bleak early, as Justin Verlander was <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/giants/article/mike-yastrzemski-s-walk-off-splash-hit-caps-20267175.php" rel="noopener">tagged for five runs</a> in the third inning despite what manager Bob Melvin called “his best stuff of the season.” The veteran ace still managed to strike out nine across 5 2/3 innings and hold the Reds to just one hit outside that big frame.</p><p>“It’s the best I’ve felt since 2022,” Verlander said. “Not even close.”</p><p>The comeback began in the fourth when Jung Hoo Lee tripled and scored to snap an 18-inning scoreless streak. The Giants then exploded for four runs in the sixth, sparked by a Yastrzemski double and highlighted by Patrick Bailey’s RBI triple and Tyler Fitzgerald’s clutch single to make it a 6-5 game.</p><p>Wilmer Flores tied things in the eighth with a solo shot — his fifth homer of the season, already surpassing his 2024 total. He later finished 3-for-4, continuing a hot start after missing time last year.</p><p>The Giants’ defense wasn’t always sharp — two runners were thrown out at home — but the bullpen held strong after Verlander’s exit. Lou Trivino, Randy Rodríguez, Tyler Rogers, Ryan Walker, and Erik Miller combined to blank Cincinnati over the final innings. Miller earned the win with a clean 10th.</p><p>For a team built on grit and timely hitting, Wednesday’s win embodied the Giants’ identity — capped by a storybook swing from a player whose last name carries weight in Boston and San Francisco alike.</p><p>“This team doesn’t quit,” Yastrzemski said. “No panic, no fear — just belief. That’s what makes it special.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mike Yastrzemski walk-off passes Red Sox legendary grandfather

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-hunter-greene-100-mph-feat-matched-justin-verlander-sandy-alcantara');   ga('set', 'title', 'Hunter Greene hits 100 mph feat only matched by Justin Verlander, Sandy Alcantara');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Reds-pitcher-Hunter-Greene-throws-a-pitch-to-home.jpg"><figcaption>© John Hefti-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Hunter Greene hits 100 mph feat only matched by Justin Verlander, Sandy Alcantara</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-08T09:12:19-07:00">April 8th, 9:12am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-08T09:12:53-07:00">April 8th, 9:12am</time><address><a>Benjamin Adducchio</a>Benjamin Adducchio is a journalist and writer with more than a decade of experience in covering sports news. Ben is a passionate sports fan who loves college football, basketball, and the New York Yankees.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene knows a thing or two about throwing heat. Greene is now on a very special list, due to that ability. Greene is the third Major League Baseball pitcher to throw a 100 miles per hour pitch in <a href="https://x.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1909458079663468697" rel="noopener">the ninth inning of a game</a> he started, per MLB.com.</p><p>The only two other hurlers to accomplish this incredible feat are Justin Verlander and Sandy Alcantara. Extensive pitch tracking started in 2008, per the outlet. Verlander and Alcantara each did it more than once.</p><p>Greene reached 100.7 mph on Monday in one of his ninth inning pitches. The Reds defeated the San Francisco Giants in a 2-0 game.</p><p>In that contest, the Reds starter lasted 8 and two-thirds innings. He nearly pitched a complete game but <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/hunter-greene-scoreless-start-vs-giants" rel="noopener">got pulled in the ninth</a>, after throwing 104 pitches.</p><p>“He was throwing 100 in the ninth,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said, per MLB.com. “More than anything, though, I think it was the slider today. It was even better than last time we saw it. … When you’re throwing that hard, it’s tough to lay off that pitch, too. So he’s had good stuff before in the past, [but] I think this was about as good as stuff he’s ever had.”</p><p>Greene’s performance is one of the bright spots for<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-terry-francona-cincinnati-unfortunate-low-65-years"> a frustrating start to the season for the Reds</a>. Cincinnati plays the Giants again on Tuesday night.</p><h2><b>Hunter Greene is the go-to-guy in the Reds rotation</b></h2><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-reason-cincinnati-high-hopes-hunter-greene-2025">Greene has established himself as the jewel of the Reds pitching rotation</a>. This season, the hurler has posted a 1.31 ERA so far. He has a 1-1 record after working 20 plus innings for Cincinnati.</p><p>Greene is on track to match or exceed his stats from last season. In 2024, the Reds pitcher picked up nine victories while starting 26 games. The club didn’t have a great season, as Cincinnati finished the year with a 77-85 record.</p><p>The team is hoping for a much better year this year. Cincinnati is 4-7 on the season, after the win Monday over San Francisco.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Hunter Greene hits 100 mph feat only matched by Justin Verlander, Sandy Alcantara

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-rumors-reason-elly-de-la-cruz-follow-vladimir-guerrero-jr');   ga('set', 'title', 'Reds rumors: The reason Elly De La Cruz won’t follow Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s lead');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Elly-De-La-Cruz-sliding.jpg"><figcaption>Benny Sieu-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Reds rumors: The reason Elly De La Cruz won’t follow Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s lead</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-07T08:29:07-07:00">April 7th, 8:29am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-07T08:29:07-07:00">April 7th, 8:29am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Toronto Blue Jays made big news on Monday by extending Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/grading-vladimir-guerrero-jr-blue-jays-500-million-contract"> 14-year, $500 million deal has fans of many other teams</a> dreaming of long-term deals for their young stars. One of those fan bases is the Cincinnati Reds, who have a superstar in Elly De La Cruz, who will need a new contract soon. Multiple ESPN insiders <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/44536563/mlb-2025-vladimir-guerrero-jr-toronto-blue-jays-500-million-deal-reaction" rel="noopener">say that won’t be happening</a> for one specific reason.</p><p>The answer would’ve been Gunnar Henderson or Elly De La Cruz — if their agent wasn’t Scott Boras, who has a track record of preferring to take his star clients to free agency,” ESPN’s Jorge Castillo said when asked who the next star to sign would be. Buster Olney simply said, “Elly De La Cruz.” And David Schoenfield said, “The window might be closing for a De La Cruz extension with the Reds, but I’d love to see Cincinnati lock him up like the Royals did with Bobby Witt Jr.”</p><p>The Reds have not signed a big-money contract in years, but De La Cruz is an elite talent they need to keep. While they are a small market team, this is the type of player they need to keep for a long time.</p><h2><b>The Reds need to figure out how to pay Elly De La Cruz</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Elly-De-La-Cruz-with-Reds.jpg"><figcaption>Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Across the Queen City, the Bengals are trying to figure out how to pay all of their superstars. They have paid Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins, but can’t field a competitive defense at the same time. The Reds have two players, Nick Martinez and Jeimer Candelario, making over $10 million this season. De La Cruz would likely make four times that.</p><p>Part of being a small-market team is taking advantage of every window. In the first two years of his excellent career, De La Cruz has not played in the playoffs or finished over .500. The Reds have multiple years of control left on the shortstop, but they should be trying to extend him now.</p><p>With Boras as his agent, De La Cruz is unlikely to sign an extension. Boras’ clients rarely pass up unrestricted free agency, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-reds-hall-of-famer-gives-elly-de-la-cruz-flowers">especially those of De La Cruz’s magnitude</a>. Juan Soto passed up multiple extensions before signing his mega deal, and Aaron Judge played on an expiring deal when it was not necessary. It worked for both of those players, so there is no reason to think De La Cruz won’t do the same.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Reds rumors: The reason Elly De La Cruz won’t follow Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s lead

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-terry-francona-cincinnati-unfortunate-low-65-years');   ga('set', 'title', 'Terry Francona’s Reds suffers unfortunate low not seen in 65 years');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Terry-Francona-with-Reds.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Terry Francona’s Reds suffers unfortunate low not seen in 65 years</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-04T07:16:04-07:00">April 4th, 7:16am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-04T07:16:04-07:00">April 4th, 7:16am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cincinnati Reds lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0 on Thursday to start an important divisional series. After a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/rangers-news-texas-shoulders-blame-brutal-loss-reds">dominant 14-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday</a>, Terry Francona’s squad has lost three straight games. Not only has Elly De La Cruz gone cold, but the entire Reds offense has gone cold. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, <a href="https://x.com/BNightengale/status/1907978569319698467" rel="noopener">they are the first team</a> to lose 1-0 in three straight games in 65 years.</p><p>“The Cincinnati Reds lose 1-0 for the franchise-record 3rd consecutive time. The last time any team suffered the same fate was 65 years ago,” Nightengale reported.</p><p>In those three games, the Reds’ offense has mustered just nine hits and just two extra-base hits. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-why-terry-francona-decided-unretire">Terry Francona came out of retirement to coach a team</a> he thought was full of talent and promise. That may still be true, but they have not shown it over the past three days.</p><p>The National League is incredibly strong and the Reds need to get off to a hot start to make the playoffs. Their pitching has given them that opportunity early in the season, but the offense has been brutally cold. Francona and his staff must figure something out to get this team on the right track soon.</p><h2><b>The Reds have elite offensive talent they must tap into</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Elly-De-La-Cruz-at-bat.jpg"><figcaption>Katie Stratman-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>In the non-Ohtani category of the NL MVP race, Elly De La Cruz is a true contender. He is an elite defender, hits for contact and power, and is one of the best base runners in the league. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruz-gets-100-real-torpedo-bat-amid-controversy">De La Cruz was a big piece of that dominant win over the Rangers</a> with seven RBIs, but he has to find consistency this season.</p><p>Matt McLain is the second member of their infield two-headed monster that should scare teams. After missing last year with an injury, he is off to a little bit of a slow start. But Francona and the Reds have a lot of McLain stock heading into this season, and that must pay off.</p><p>The one piece that the Reds have seen great returns on this season is Hunter Greene. After showing he is a bona fide ace last year, he has allowed just three earned runs in 12.2 innings, including a solid Opening Day outing. A 25-year-old ace is a great piece to build around, especially on a team with Elly De La Cruz.</p><p>The Reds have the pieces, but do not have the spending ability to surround them with veteran talent. Is Francona enough to get them over the hump?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Terry Francona’s Reds suffers unfortunate low not seen in 65 years

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/texas-rangers/rangers-news-nathan-eovaldi-epic-maddux-game-reds');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi reveals key to epic ‘Maddux’ game vs. Reds');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Nathan-Eovaldi-reveals-key-to-epic-Maddux-game-vs.-Reds-ClutchPoints-%C2%B7.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi reveals key to epic ‘Maddux’ game vs. Reds</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-02T07:08:18-07:00">April 2nd, 7:08am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-02T07:08:18-07:00">April 2nd, 7:08am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Texas Rangers beat the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 on Tuesday night. After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/texas-rangers/rangers-news-texas-shoulders-blame-brutal-loss-reds">Cincy racked up 14 runs on Kumar Rocker and the bullpen on Monday</a>, they were shut out at home. The Rangers turned to Nathan Eovaldi for the second game of the series, and he dominated with a Maddux. With only 99 pitches in a complete game shutout, the <a href="https://x.com/victoryplustv/status/1907239401169510523" rel="noopener">veteran spoke to</a> Victory+ about his efficiency.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I needed to go out there and go deep in the game. Pick up the boys and I was able to do that tonight. That's what makes it a little more special."</p><p>Nathan Eovaldi after recording the third complete game shutout of his career🔊<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AllForTX?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AllForTX</a> <a href="https://t.co/cgq0Nc9ajf">pic.twitter.com/cgq0Nc9ajf</a></p><p>— Victory+ (@victoryplustv) <a href="https://twitter.com/victoryplustv/status/1907239401169510523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I think it was the first-pitch strikes,” Eovaldi said. “But also, the off-speed pitches. I was able to get some quick outs, and I didn’t really have many deep counts. There were a few in there, but again, once we gave up that first hit, we were able to get a double play out of it. And not walking guys helps.”</p><p>Eovaldi allowed just four hits and no walks in the full nine innings on Tuesday. After a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruz-gets-100-real-torpedo-bat-amid-controversy">seven RBI game on Monday, Elly De La Cruz</a> was held without a hit and made the final out in the game. The Maddux is named after Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, who racked up 13 of them in his career. Eovaldi’s pitching coach is Mike Maddux, Greg’s older brother.</p><p>The Rangers have gotten solid pitching this year, and that should help them get back to the playoffs.</p><h2><b>Pitching is key for the Rangers this year</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Nathan-Eovaldi-with-TX-Rangers.jpg"><figcaption>Katie Stratman-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Of all of the issues the Rangers had last year, pitching injuries were the most significant. Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney were the only pitchers to throw over 103 innings last year. Despite <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/toronto-blue-jays/blue-jays-news-toronto-adds-max-scherzer-rotation-free-agency">losing Max Scherzer in free agency</a>, they have a loaded rotation that should win them games where their offense goes quiet.</p><p>While Jacob deGrom may never get back to his Cy Young levels, even a step down is one of the top pitchers in the league. His first start of the season was dominant, with five shutout innings and only two hits allowed. Despite the blowout loss with Rocker on the hill, the Rangers have a lot to hope for in their rotation.</p><p>On offense, the Rangers have just 18 runs through their first six games. They also picked up only four hits in Monday’s game, but a win is a win. Marcus Semien and Corey Seager have both gotten off to slow starts, and if they can turn it around, the Rangers can start to pile up early-season wins.</p><p>The Rangers and Reds finish their series with a 12:10 central time first pitch on Wednesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi reveals key to epic ‘Maddux’ game vs. Reds

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruz-gets-100-real-torpedo-bat-amid-controversy');   ga('set', 'title', 'Reds’ Elly De La Cruz gets 100% real about torpedo bat amid controversy');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Elly-De-La-Cruz-gets-100-real-about-torpedo-bat-amid-controversy.jpg"></figure><h1>Reds’ Elly De La Cruz gets 100% real about torpedo bat amid controversy</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-01T06:11:43-07:00">April 1st, 6:11am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-01T06:11:43-07:00">April 1st, 6:11am</time><address><a>Ryan Bologna</a>Ryan Bologna is an author at ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The ‘torpedo bat’ has been the talk of baseball, and Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz used it for the first time on Monday. He <a href="https://x.com/char_cliff/status/1906879710988009950" rel="noopener">gave it a rave review</a> after the game against the Texas Rangers.</p><p>“It feels good. It feels really good,” Elly De La Cruz said, via Charlie Clifford of NBC 5 Cincinnati.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruz-did-terry-francona-never-seen-before">De La Cruz said that</a> he used it for the first time during batting practice in batting practice on Monday. It appears that De La Cruz did not need much time to adjust, as the results were great, with him going 4-for-5 with seven RBI in the Reds’ 14-3 win.</p><p>In De La Cruz’s first at-bat, he singled in the first inning against Rangers starter Kumar Rocker and came around to score on a Gavin Lux double. In the next inning, De La Cruz connected on a three-run home run, also off of Rocker. In his third at-bat, he flew out to center field, before adding a two-run double in his fourth at-bat. In his last at-bat, De La Cruz hit his second home run of the game.</p><p>Obviously, the bat brought great results for De La Cruz. It will be interesting to see how many players adopt this across MLB. With the New York Yankees having a great weekend while many utilized the torpedo bats, and De La Cruz putting together this performance, there are at least some positive results in a small sample size. However, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-reds-hall-of-famer-gives-elly-de-la-cruz-flowers">De La Cruz has proved to be a star player</a>, and a game like this is not abnormal.</p><p>It will be interesting to see how De La Cruz follows up on this performance, as the Reds will face the Rangers again on Tuesday. Nathan Eovaldi will be the starting pitcher for the Rangers, with Carson Spiers taking the mound for the Reds.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Reds’ Elly De La Cruz gets 100% real about torpedo bat amid controversy

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-terry-francona-injury-updates-giants');   ga('set', 'title', 'Reds’ Terry Francona provides laundry list of injury updates ahead of Giants clash');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/10-04-24-francona-featured.jpeg"></figure><h1>Reds’ Terry Francona provides laundry list of injury updates ahead of Giants clash</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-29T11:20:03-07:00">March 29th, 11:20am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-29T11:20:03-07:00">March 29th, 11:20am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cincinnati Reds are set to host the San Francisco Giants on Saturday afternoon. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-ian-gibaut-fires-nsfw-reaction-to-painful-mlb-opening-day-loss-to-giants">Giants earned a 6-4 victory against the Reds</a> on Opening Day, so Cincinnati is hoping to bounce back. Before the game, manager Terry Francona <a href="https://x.com/CharlieG__/status/1906028955963937074" rel="noopener">provided multiple injury updates</a>, via Charlie Goldsmith.</p><p>“Some updates from Terry Francona,” Goldsmith wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Andrew Abbott threw five innings in a minor league game yesterday, which went well. (Tyler) Stephenson has another MRI on April 7. Rhett Lowder is back throwing off the mound. Wade Miley goes two innings tomorrow.”</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-terry-francona-honest-injury-update-2024-rbi-leader">Reds are hoping that injuries won’t play too significant of a role</a> this season. Cincinnati would love to take the next step as a franchise and compete for a postseason spot. With legendary manager Terry Francona leading the team, there is reason to believe in the ball club.</p><p>Cincinnati enjoyed some promising moments in 2024. Overall, though, it was a down season. The Reds finished with a record of 77-85, which was good for fourth place in the National League Central division. The NL Central does not currently feature an obvious favorite to win the division, however.</p><p>Francona is one of the most respected managers in the league. He helped the Boston Red Sox break their World Series drought in 2004. He almost led the Cleveland Guardians to their first Fall Classic victory since 1948 in 2016, but Cleveland was defeated in seven games.</p><p>Now Francona is looking to lead the Reds to the franchise’s first World Series since the 1990 season. It may not happen in Francona’s first season with Cincinnati — although anything is possible — but the Reds’ future is intriguing without question.</p><p>At the moment, they are focused on preparing for Saturday afternoon’s game against the Giants. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 PM EST as Cincinnati looks to win its first game of the ’25 season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Reds’ Terry Francona provides laundry list of injury updates ahead of Giants clash

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/reds-ian-gibaut-fires-nsfw-reaction-to-painful-mlb-opening-day-loss-to-giants');   ga('set', 'title', 'Reds’ Ian Gibaut fires NSFW reaction to painful MLB Opening Day loss to Giants');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/unnamed-1_80307e.jpg"></figure><h1>Reds’ Ian Gibaut fires NSFW reaction to painful MLB Opening Day loss to Giants</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-27T19:06:36-07:00">March 27th, 7:06pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-27T19:06:36-07:00">March 27th, 7:06pm</time><address><a>Daniel Locke</a>Daniel Locke covers the New Orleans Pelicans and is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints. He will graduate from Auburn University with a degree in Journalism in May. Daniel has covered Auburn Athletics for the entirety of his time as a student, focusing on football, men's basketball, and baseball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cincinnati Reds fell <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/giants-vs-reds-prediction-odds-pick-3-27-2025">6-4 at the hands of</a> the San Francisco Giants on Opening Day, pitcher Ian Gibaut ended up with the loss.</p><p>Gibaut was not pleased with how things went for his team and <a href="https://x.com/CalebNoeTV/status/1905412960073232721" rel="noopener">did not hesitate to voice his displeasure.</a></p><p>“Everybody, one after another did their job, and then — Sh*t happens,” Gibaut said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, by WCPO’s Caleb Noe.</p><p>Gibaut spent 0.2 innings on the mound, but allowed four runs off three hits while striking two batters out and walking one.</p><p>The Reds are looking to show improvement in 2025 under <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-terry-francona-honest-injury-update-2024-rbi-leader">new manager Terry Francona</a>, but the season did not have the start Cincinnati would have liked.</p><h2><b>Reds’ Hunter Greene makes Opening Day history </b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/unnamed-2_3a9a12.jpg"><figcaption>Cara Owsley/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.</figcaption></figure><p>Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene made history on Opening Day, becoming <a href="https://andscape.com/features/its-his-time-hunter-greene-joins-special-group-as-black-starting-pitcher-on-mlb-opening-day/" rel="noopener">one of just 40 Black pitchers</a> to do so in MLB history.</p><p>“To be able to represent the African American community within our sport, which obviously is the lowest percentage that we’ve had, it means a lot,” Greene said via Andscape. “For kids to be able to turn the game on and be able to see themselves in me, I don’t take that lightly, so it’s awesome.”</p><p>Greene put together a solid performance on the mound, limiting the Giants to two runs off three hits and striking eight batters out while only walking one through five innings of work.</p><p>Greene has had to face racism throughout his days of playing baseball, but he never let it keep him down.</p><p>“He says, ‘Who’s the [N-word] at shortstop,’” recalled Russell Greene, Hunter’s father. “It was loud enough that everyone heard it, and no one said anything. I couldn’t say anything because my buddy who ran the team was a deputy sheriff, and I didn’t want to act out. And I didn’t want to do anything to lose my job.”</p><p>Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson explained how much work Greene has put in to earn the opportunities that have come his way.</p><p>“There’s a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, and he’s absolutely craving the opportunity to show that,” Johnson said. “He deserves it because he’s put himself into those situations, made himself a better pitcher and he’s worked at his craft. And when you see that sort of maturity from a young player, I’ve got to reward that. It’s his time.”</p><p>Greene’s mental toughness was developed at a young age, but it helps him perform at a high level to this day.</p><p>“Having access to that consistently at the age of 8, all the way up to 12, with the academy contributed to my development and understanding for the game,” Greene said. “It took it to another level because of that exposure and who I was being coached and mentored by.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Reds’ Ian Gibaut fires NSFW reaction to painful MLB Opening Day loss to Giants

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/mlb-rumors-ex-reds-gm-blockbuster-luis-robert-jr-trade-white-sox');   ga('set', 'title', 'MLB rumors: Ex-Reds GM predicts blockbuster Luis Robert Jr. trade with White Sox');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Ex-Reds-GM-predicts-blockbuster-Luis-Robert-Jr-trade-with-White-Sox.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB rumors: Ex-Reds GM predicts blockbuster Luis Robert Jr. trade with White Sox</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-25T14:45:39-07:00">March 25th, 2:45pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-25T15:49:43-07:00">March 25th, 3:49pm</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Chicago White Sox</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Chicago White Sox are coming off the worst season in modern Major League Baseball history. After their 121-loss campaign in 2024, they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/garrett-crochet-trade-grades-for-red-sox-white-sox">traded ace pitcher Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox</a>. That leaves their roster in an even worse spot heading into another dark year of the rebuild.</p><p>Former Cincinnati Reds general manager Jim Bowden <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6228831/2025/03/25/mlb-predictions-2025-vladimir-guerrero-extension-kyle-tucker-phillies/" rel="noopener">predicted in-season moves</a> for The Athletic and can see his former club adding Luis Robert Jr. as Chicago keeps tearing it down.</p><p>“The MLB trade deadline is loaded with wheeling and dealing, which gets an early start during the All-Star break as the White Sox send center fielder Luis Robert Jr. to the Reds for shortstops Edwin Arroyo and Tyson Lewis along with right-hander Luke Hayden,” Bowden wrote.</p><p>Rumors surfaced this winter that the Reds and White Sox had almost completed a Luis Robert Jr. trade. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/mlb-rumors-reds-failed-luis-robert-jr-trade-white-sox">Ken Rosenthal reported that the Reds were not comfortable with how much of Robert’s</a> salary they were asked to take. Arroyo, who Bowden added in his deal, was a part of those conversations.</p><p>The Reds are looking to power out of their rebuild and contend for the NL Central title. Bringing in Robert would be the move that could put them over the edge.</p><h2><b>Reds should make a big splash to support this core</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Luis-Robert-Jr-with-Chicago-White-Sox-6.jpg"><figcaption>Matt Marton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While the Reds have not made the playoffs in this era, they have a solid core to build around. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-matt-mclain-shoulder-surgery-cost-entire-2024-season">Matt McLain is healthy and back in the lineup</a>, Noelvi Marte is back from suspension, and Hunter Greene is a legit ace. That does not include Elly De La Cruz, who is an MVP candidate after a ridiculous season last year.</p><p>Their great prospect pipeline does not have many outfielders, and Robert could be the answer to that problem. But his injury issues are a red flag that teams may want to avoid him in a trade. But his incredible seasons in 2021 and 2023 show the upside that would drive up the cost.</p><p>The Reds would give up a haul to get Robert from the White Sox in Bowden’s mock trade. Arroyo is their fifth-ranked prospect, Lewis the ninth, and Hayden the 30th overall and 14th pitcher. The White Sox got four prospects for Crochet. Another three for Robert would put their rebuild in the fast lane.</p><p>Would you do this if you were running the Reds? Is Robert the piece they need to finally make a playoff run?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB rumors: Ex-Reds GM predicts blockbuster Luis Robert Jr. trade with White Sox

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-terry-francona-honest-injury-update-2024-rbi-leader');   ga('set', 'title', 'Reds’ Terry Francona gives brutally honest injury update on 2024 RBI leader');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Terry-Francona-gives-brutally-honest-injury-update-on-2024-RBI-leader.jpg"></figure><h1>Reds’ Terry Francona gives brutally honest injury update on 2024 RBI leader</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-23T09:55:01-07:00">March 23rd, 9:55am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-23T09:55:21-07:00">March 23rd, 9:55am</time><address><a>Benjamin Adducchio</a>Benjamin Adducchio is a journalist and writer with more than a decade of experience in covering sports news. Ben is a passionate sports fan who loves college football, basketball, and the New York Yankees.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona is going to have a man down when the season starts. The Reds star Spencer Steer is <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44361115/reds-spencer-steer-shoulder-open-season-il" rel="noopener">starting the season</a> on the injured list, per ESPN. Steer is battling a shoulder problem.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-why-terry-francona-decided-unretire">Steer was the 2024 RBI leader for the Reds</a>. He finished the season hitting .225 with 20 home runs. Steer batted in 92 runs, which was impressive. The club finished the season with a 77-85 record in the National League Central division.</p><p>Steer is a versatile player so the Reds will miss his defense as well as his offense. He played both left field and first base last season, helping the team whenever asked. He appeared in 158 games last season, also working as a designated hitter.</p><p>“I talked to him, and he understands that being a full-time DH isn’t best for him or our team,” Francona said. “I understand coming back, we’re going to have to message it a little bit, but if we can get him playing a position, that’ll help.”</p><p>The Reds play a spring training game on Sunday against the Cleveland Guardians.</p><h2><b>Reds need Spencer Steer to have another great season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Reds-Spencer-Steer.jpg"><figcaption>Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Reds fans hope that their star is back in the lineup soon. Steer’s offense helped keep the Reds in contention for the National League playoffs last season. He collected 129 hits for a club that battled all the way into September for a Wild Card spot.</p><p>Cincinnati is looking to return to the postseason in 2025. The Reds had a promising 2023 campaign, winning 82 games. That went sideways last year, despite Steer’s solid production.</p><p>Francona says there’s no timetable right now for the Steer’s return.</p><p>“I talked to him for a while,” Francona added. “I give the kid so much credit. He’s busting his [butt]. But he’s also such a good kid that he listens, and he gives you good opinions. … We’ve got to see how he progresses, that’s the most important thing.”</p><p>Steer was drafted by the Minnesota Twins but came to the Reds in a trade in 2022. He has posted 178 RBIs in the last two seasons. Steer also has 43 home runs in the last two years.</p><p>This spring, his shoulder injury has kept Steer out of the lineup consistently. He has just one hit in seven total at-bats for the club. Steer is batting .143.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-reason-cincinnati-high-hopes-hunter-greene-2025">The Reds open their season</a> on March 27 against the San Francisco Giants. Steer will certainly be cheering on his team.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Reds’ Terry Francona gives brutally honest injury update on 2024 RBI leader

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-cincinnati-contract-extension-jose-trevino-yankees');   ga('set', 'title', 'Reds agree to contract extension with ex-Yankees catcher');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Reds-trade-for-Yankees-catcher-in-3-player-deal.jpg"></figure><h1>Reds agree to contract extension with ex-Yankees catcher</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-20T10:55:07-07:00">March 20th, 10:55am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-20T10:55:07-07:00">March 20th, 10:55am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-trade-jose-trevino-3-player-deal">New York Yankees traded Jose Trevino to the Cincinnati Reds</a> this past offseason. Trevino is now set to remain in Cincinnati for the foreseeable future, as the former Yankees catcher <a href="https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/1902771729753145466" rel="noopener">reportedly agreed</a> to a three-year contract extension with the Reds on Thursday, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Heyman reports that the deal is worth almost $15 million and it includes a club option.</p><p>Trevino, 32, began his big league career with the Texas Rangers in 2018. After spending four seasons in Texas, he joined the Yankees for the 2022 campaign. Trevino ultimately earned his first All-Star section and Gold Glove that season.</p><p>However, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/yankees-news-jose-trevino-tommy-kahnle-injury-updates">Trevino was limited</a> in 2023 and 2024. In addition to injuries, Trevino dealt with underperformance. The Yankees ended up making the decision to move on this past offseason.</p><p>The veteran catcher has clearly found a home in Cincinnati, though. The Reds feature a number of young pitchers, so having someone like Trevino on the roster will be important. As an experienced big league catcher, Trevino will likely be able to help the young pitchers take the next step forward in their careers.</p><h2><b>Reds preparing for upcoming 2025 MLB regular season</b></h2><p>The Reds will be an interesting team to watch during the ’25 campaign. Cincinnati plays in a winnable National League Central division. The Reds have been rebuilding in recent seasons. They have played mediocre baseball over the past couple of years, but this Cincinnati ball club may be close to contending.</p><p>Stars such as Elly De La Cruz will lead the way. However, MLB fans understand the importance of veteran leadership. Jose Trevino’s presence on the roster over the next few years should prove to be pivotal.</p><p>The Reds are currently in the process of finishing spring training. Cincinnati is hopeful that the team can make a competitive run during the 2025 season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Reds agree to contract extension with ex-Yankees catcher

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-terry-francona-truth-bomb-on-year-off-ahead-2025-return');   ga('set', 'title', 'Reds’ Terry Francona drops truth bomb on year off ahead of 2025 return');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Terry-Francona-drops-truth-bomb-on-year-off-ahead-of-2025-return-with-Cincinnati.jpg"></figure><h1>Reds’ Terry Francona drops truth bomb on year off ahead of 2025 return</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-17T06:31:39-07:00">March 17th, 6:31am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-17T06:31:39-07:00">March 17th, 6:31am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-why-terry-francona-decided-unretire">Cincinnati Reds are about to enter their first season with a new manager in Terry Francona</a>. Although this is just his first year managing Cincy, he’s someone who has immense experience both as a player and as a manager in baseball.</p><p>The two-time World Series champion manager will look to work his magic for the Reds, as he returns to the dugout after he stepped down as manager of the Cleveland Guardians in 2023 — and retired from baseball — in large part because he wanted to take care of his health.</p><p>After 11 consecutive seasons managing the Indians, Francona found himself away from the dugout during the 2024 MLB season, though, he said he <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2025/03/17/terry-francona-cincinnati-reds-manager/82479663007/" rel="noopener">didn’t feel he was missing his old job</a> at all.</p><p>“I’m trying to tell people and I don’t think they really believed me, but I really didn’t miss it that much,” Francona said (h/t Bob Nightengale USA TODAY). “I had a good year. When you know you need to step away, you’re probably a little late stepping away.”</p><p>Francona also shared that before he was hired by the Reds and as his health started to improve, he began to wonder about what’s next for him.</p><p>“I felt I was short-changing some people over there in Cleveland,” continued the 65-year-old Francona. “And that’s not a good feeling. So you start taking care of yourself, and you feel good and I still wasn’t thinking about managing. I was starting to think about, ‘OK what do I want to do. How busy do I want to get?'”</p><p>Francona had already opened up before about his initial stance to stay retired, but the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-reds-hall-of-famer-gives-elly-de-la-cruz-flowers">Reds appeared to be a team that excited him</a>, one that seemingly gave him the same feeling he had when he was offered the gig to manage the Indians over a decade ago.</p><p>The three-time American League Manager of the Year, who steered the Boston Red Sox to World Series title wins in 2004 and 2007, hops on a Reds club that took a step back in 2023. After finishing the 2023 season with an 82-80 record, Cincinnati regressed in 2024, missing the playoffs for the fourth year in a row with just a 77-85 record.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Reds’ Terry Francona drops truth bomb on year off ahead of 2025 return

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-reds-hall-of-famer-gives-elly-de-la-cruz-flowers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Reds Hall of Famer gives Elly De La Cruz his flowers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Reds-news-Cincinnati-Hall-of-Famer-gives-Elly-De-La-Cruz-his-flowers.jpg"></figure><h1>Reds Hall of Famer gives Elly De La Cruz his flowers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-15T01:37:11-07:00">March 15th, 1:37am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-15T01:37:11-07:00">March 15th, 1:37am</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He's a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic. In addition to sports writing, he works for Arizona Football in the Player Personnel and Recruiting department and formerly served as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cincinnati Reds phenom <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruzs-declaration-859-feet-home-runs-spring-debut">Elly De La Cruz continues to amaze</a> fans, opponents, and even some of the most experienced baseball minds. The latest to heap praise on the 23-year-old superstar? None other than Reds legend and Hall of Famer Barry Larkin.</p><p>Larkin, who spent his entire 19-year MLB career with the Reds and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012, recently marveled at De La Cruz’s instincts and baseball intelligence.</p><p>“His baseball IQ is off the absolute charts! It’s amazing how he sees and anticipates the game… he sees things before they happen,” Larkin said via MLB Network on X, formerly Twitter.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"His baseball IQ is off the absolute charts! It's amazing how he sees and anticipates the game… he sees things before they happen."</p><p>– Hall of Famer and <a href="https://twitter.com/Reds?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Reds</a> legend Barry Larkin praises Elly De La Cruz <a href="https://t.co/MvCmr7mYjy">pic.twitter.com/MvCmr7mYjy</a></p><p>— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1900656179451224110?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>That level of anticipation was on full display during a recent spring training game against the Colorado Rockies when De La Cruz pulled off a jaw-dropping baserunning sequence that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruz-did-terry-francona-never-seen-before">even left Reds manager Terry Francona in disbelief.</a></p><h2><b>Elly De La Cruz left Reds manager Terry Francona in shock</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Elly-de-la-Cruz-1.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>In the fourth inning of Tuesday’s matchup, De La Cruz reached first base on an infield single, using his elite speed to beat out the throw. A few pitches later, after a pitch hit Austin Hays, the Reds had runners on first and second with no outs. That’s when De La Cruz made magic happen.</p><p>As Rockies catcher Drew Romo attempted to throw out Hays at second base on a double steal, De La Cruz swiped third without hesitation. But instead of stopping there, he kept running—scoring from second base without the ball ever leaving the infield. Francona, who has seen just about everything in his four decades in baseball, couldn’t believe what he had witnessed.</p><p>“They say that you may see something when you come to a game that you’ve never seen before. I’ve never seen that,” Francona said, per The Enquirer (Cincinnati). “When he left third, I’m like, ‘No, no, no, no. Good play.’ I mean, that’s as athletic and instinctual as you’re ever gonna see. My goodness sakes. That was incredible.”</p><p>Originally, the play was scored as one stolen base with De La Cruz advancing home on the throw. However, after review, the official scorer changed it to credit De La Cruz with two stolen bases on the same play—a testament to his aggressive baserunning and awareness. While De La Cruz’s elite speed is what catches the eye, Francona believes his instincts are just as impressive.</p><p>“Everybody sees the physical stuff, but if he doesn’t keep his head up and know where the ball is, that doesn’t happen,” Francona added.</p><p>De La Cruz led the Majors in stolen bases in 2024 with 67, but his accomplishments extend far beyond just swiping bags. He became the first shortstop in MLB history to record 25 or more home runs and 65 or more stolen bases in a single season. Additionally, he became the fastest player in MLB history to reach 100 stolen bases and 100 extra-base hits, accomplishing the feat in just 251 games—two fewer than the previous record-holder, Juan Samuel.</p><p>The Reds’ young star also joined elite company as just the third player in the modern era (since 1900) to tally at least 100 stolen bases within his first two MLB seasons, joining Vince Coleman (217 SB, 1985-86) and the legendary Rickey Henderson (133 SB, 1979-80).</p><p>With his rare combination of speed, power, and intelligence, De La Cruz is redefining what it means to be a five-tool player. As Larkin, Francona, and the rest of the baseball world continue to take notice, one thing is certain—this is only the beginning for Cincinnati’s electrifying young star.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Reds Hall of Famer gives Elly De La Cruz his flowers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-reason-cincinnati-high-hopes-hunter-greene-2025');   ga('set', 'title', 'The key reason the Reds have high hopes for Hunter Greene in 2025');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-key-reason-Cincinnati-has-high-hopes-for-Hunter-Greene-in-2025.jpg"></figure><h1>The key reason the Reds have high hopes for Hunter Greene in 2025</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-14T10:38:23-07:00">March 14th, 10:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-14T10:38:23-07:00">March 14th, 10:38am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cincinnati Reds have high expectations for their 2025 season. After a disappointing 78 wins last year, they fired David Bell and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-why-terry-francona-decided-unretire">hired World Series Champion Terry Francona to be the manager</a>. Their young core is elite, led by Elly De La Cruz offensively. But they have also developed an ace, Hunter Greene, <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/44195789/mlb-season-preview-2025-jeff-passan-bold-predictions-breakout-stars-fantasy-tips" rel="noopener">who has made some changes</a> that have the Reds fired up for 2025.</p><p>“Hunter Greene was coming off the best season of his career, one that would land him the Reds’ Opening Day start this year, but he got too big last year,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported. “So over the winter, Greene hired a running coach, built up his endurance, got leaner and is now down more than 30 pounds to around 235.”</p><p>Passan continues, “At 6-foot-5, his frame could handle the extra weight, but Greene wants to become a workhorse, and getting in tip-top shape, the hope is, will help him blow past his career-high 150⅓ innings thrown last season.”</p><p>Greene was excellent last year, posting a 2.75 ERA in 26 starts with nine wins and a 6.3 bWAR, the highest among National League pitchers. If he can improve by avoiding injury this year, the Reds can compete for a National League playoff spot. And with Tito at the helm, you know they can make an October run.</p><h2><b>The Reds need their core to take a step up this year</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hunter-Greene-with-Cincinnati-Reds-1.jpg"><figcaption>Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Greene is not alone in the Cincinnati spotlight this year. The Reds have not won a playoff series since 1995 and have not made the playoffs in a full season since 2013. This young core of Green, De La Cruz, Matt McLain, and others are the best squad the team has built in a generation. They have to pay it off this year with a playoff appearance.</p><p>Last year, the Reds signed Frankie Montas to a one-year deal to be their Opening Day starter. He was solid for the first half of the season and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/brewers-news-milwaukee-fortifies-rotation-frankie-montas-trade-deadline-deal-reds">then was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers at the trade deadline.</a> This year, they did not feel the need to make that move, putting their faith in Greene.</p><p>They did make a trade for a depth starter behind Greene. The Reds dealt Jonathan India to the Kansas City Royals for starter Brady Singer. The 28-year-old was key to the Royals’ success last year but they traded from a surplus to improve their lineup. After the deal, the Reds traded for Dodgers’ second baseman Gavin Lux.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The key reason the Reds have high hopes for Hunter Greene in 2025

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-why-terry-francona-decided-unretire');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Terry Francona decided to unretire and manage Reds');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Reds-news-Why-Terry-Francona-decided-to-unretire-and-manage-Cincinnati.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Terry Francona decided to unretire and manage Reds</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-12T00:58:29-07:00">March 12th, 12:58am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-12T00:58:38-07:00">March 12th, 12:58am</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Terry Francona has dedicated much of his life to America’s Pastime, playing in the big leagues for nearly a decade before crafting a Hall of Fame career as a manager. It has come at a great cost, though. The two-time World Series-winning skipper has battled a myriad of health problems over the years, eventually bringing about his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-terry-francona-truth-bomb-cleveland-departure">retirement after the 2023 season</a>. He made the most of his yearlong break from the game, however, and is now set to lead a potentially exciting era of Cincinnati Reds baseball.</p><p>Francona underwent surgeries to replace his shoulder and repair a double hernia shortly after his retirement and got himself physically to a level where he felt like he could return to The Show. But Ultimately, the three-time American League Manager of the Year was not interested in coming into just any situation.</p><p>The fit needed to make sense. And a small-market, Ohio-based club <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/mlb-news-harold-reynolds-names-nl-central-favorite-not-cubs">brimming with talent and youth</a> seems like <a href="https://x.com/MLBNetwork/status/1899635202584182919" rel="noopener">a perfect match</a> for a man known for his infectious energy.</p><p>“I was not thinking about coming back to manage, Francona told MLB Network’s Mark DeRosa and Brian Kenny from the Reds’ spring training facility in Goodyear, Arizona. “I had a good year, I really did. When they came {to me}… it just felt right. It felt right 12 years ago when I was in Cleveland, and it felt right again. I like where I’m at, and that’s a good thing.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"It just felt right… I like where I'm at."</p><p>Terry Francona shares why he decided to come out of retirement to manage the Reds and what it was like addressing the team for the first time.<a href="https://twitter.com/SageUSAmerica?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SageUSAmerica</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/TMobile?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TMobile</a> <a href="https://t.co/9628mdfZYQ">pic.twitter.com/9628mdfZYQ</a></p><p>— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1899635202584182919?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Can Terry Francona help the Reds put it all together?</b></h2><p>The 24th-year MLB manager sees what many other fans see in this ballclub: Loads of potential. Although he was manning the Cleveland Guardians in 2023, he surely had an eye on Cincinnati’s thrilling midseason surge. The Reds exploded for a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-cincinnati-12-game-win-streak-matches-insane-133-year-old-mlb-record">12-game winning streak</a> in June and appeared poised to win the National League Central before eventually cooling off and finishing two games short of a Wild Card slot.</p><p>They were supposed to come of age last season, but regression and injuries hit the team hard, resulting in a disappointing 77-85 campaign. Hope is still bubbling underneath Great American Ball Park, though. And the organization believes Terry Francona is the person to bring it out.</p><h2><b>Cincinnati has the ability to do damage in the NL</b></h2><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruz-did-terry-francona-never-seen-before">Superb athlete Elly De La Cruz</a> is coming off an All-Star season in which he stole 67 bases (MLB-best) and slugged .471. He could force himself into NL MVP contention if the coaching staff instills a little more plate discipline in him (MLB-worst 218 strikeouts). Hunter Greene sneakily enjoyed a spectacular year, posting a 2.75 ERA and 169 Ks in 150 1/3 innings. If he can stay healthy, which is always a challenge for the right-handed starting pitcher, a Cy Young is in the cards.</p><p>Beyond those two franchise pillars, Cincinnati boasts a plethora of potentially impactful players like Matt McLain, Will Benson, Andrew Abbott, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Spencer Steer, who is dealing with a lingering shoulder issue in spring training.</p><p>Francona can only control so much, but if he can sprinkle some of the magic that helped turn the Boston Red Sox into a powerhouse in the mid-2000s and made Cleveland a pennant winner for the first time in two decades in 2016, then a Reds renaissance is a distinct possibility. Regardless of what awaits him and this club, Tito is ready to go on this unexpected yet eagerly anticipated journey.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Terry Francona decided to unretire and manage Reds

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruz-did-terry-francona-never-seen-before');   ga('set', 'title', 'What Elly De La Cruz did that Terry Francona has ‘never seen before’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/What-Elly-De-La-Cruz-did-that-Terry-Francona-has-never-seen-before.jpg"></figure><h1>What Elly De La Cruz did that Terry Francona has ‘never seen before’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-11T22:41:42-07:00">March 11th, 10:41pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-11T22:53:05-07:00">March 11th, 10:53pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cincinnati Reds sensation Elly De La Cruz took the baseball world by storm in 2024 with his stunning speed and prodigious power. And the 23-year-old shortstop has hit the ground running in the lead-up to the 2025 regular season, crushing two home runs in his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruzs-declaration-859-feet-home-runs-spring-debut">spring training debut</a>.</p><p>On Tuesday, De La Cruz did something new Reds manager Terry Francona found hard to believe. De La Cruz was on second base and took off for third as part of a double steal. Having no shot at getting the lead runner, Colorado Rockies’ catcher Drew Romo threw to second. This allowed De La Cruz to cruise home, easily scoring standing up.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Causing chaos, per usual ⚡️ <a href="https://t.co/7uG27jsWKk">pic.twitter.com/7uG27jsWKk</a></p><p>— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) <a href="https://twitter.com/Reds/status/1899574523999002829?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“You know [how] <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/elly-de-la-cruz-steals-two-bases-at-once-for-reds" rel="noopener">they say</a> you may see something when you come to a game you never seen before? I’ve never seen that,” Francona said per Steve Stockmar of MLB.com.</p><p>“When he left third I’m like ‘no no no no … good play.’ I mean that’s as athletic and instinctual I think as you’re ever gonna see. Goodness sakes. That was incredible,” Francona added.</p><h2><b>Reds’ star Elly De La Cruz continues to amaze</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Elly-De-La-Cruz.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The veteran skipper knows when he’s seeing something special. He’s spent most of his life in professional baseball as a player, a coach and a manager. Francona came out of retirement to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-terry-francona-manager">become the Reds manager</a> this offseason. And he has high hopes for De La Cruz in 2025.</p><p>Last season De La Cruz announced his presence as a force in baseball. He led the majors with 67 stolen bases, hit 25 home runs and 36 doubles while scoring 105 runs for the Reds. He finished his second MLB season with 5.2 bWAR and made his first All-Star Game.</p><p>De La Cruz also added his name to the record books on multiple occasions. He became the youngest player <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruz-completes-feat-not-seen-since-1901">in franchise history</a> with four extra-base hits in a single game. He then got four more hits the following day becoming the first Reds player in 23 years with back-to-back four-hit games.</p><p>Even more impressively, De La Cruz became the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruz-secures-mlb-first-with-epic-statistical-feat">first player in MLB history</a> to steal 100 bases and hit 30 home runs over his first two seasons. The feat is all the more astounding considering he only played in 98 games during his rookie year for the Reds. After his first two seasons in the majors, De La Cruz has 102 steals and 38 homers.</p><p>And he’s picked up right where he left off last year. De La Cruz has been tearing up spring training. In nine games he’s slashing .500/.586/1.000 with three home runs, seven RBI, eight runs scored and five stolen bases, after he was credited with two steals on his epic scoring play.</p><p>Of course, De La Cruz has some things to work on. He did lead all of baseball in strikeouts last season with 218 and also had an MLB-high 29 errors at shortstop. But the future is undeniably bright for the third-year player.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

What Elly De La Cruz did that Terry Francona has ‘never seen before’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/mlb-news-pete-rose-morbid-hall-of-fame-prediction-final-interview-death');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pete Rose made morbid Hall of Fame prediction in final interview before death');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Pete-Rose-made-morbid-Hall-of-Fame-prediction-in-final-interview-before-death.jpg"></figure><h1>Pete Rose made morbid Hall of Fame prediction in final interview before death</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-04T14:37:55-08:00">March 4th, 2:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-04T14:37:55-08:00">March 4th, 2:37pm</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cincinnati Reds legend <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/mlb-news-mlb-legend-pete-rose-dead-at-83">Pete Rose died in September at the age of 83</a>. Despite still holding the record for career hits with 4,256 hits, he is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He gambled on games while he was the manager of the Reds and was banned from baseball for life, which bars him from the Hall of Fame. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-stories/mlb-news-pete-rose-mlb-reinstatement-push-gets-massive-update">MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is now reviewing his case, which could finally land him in Cooperstown</a>. Pete Rose <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44109603/pete-rose-said-believed-make-hall-fame-die" rel="noopener">said in his final interview</a> that this Hall of Fame update could be coming once he was gone.</p><p>“I’ve come to the conclusion — I hope I’m wrong — that I’ll make the Hall of Fame after I die,” Rose said in a documentary interview 10 days before his death, obtained by ESPN. “Which I totally disagree with, because the Hall of Fame is for two reasons: your fans and your family. That’s what the Hall of Fame is for. Your fans and your family. And it’s for your family if you’re here. It’s for your fans if you’re here. Not if you’re 10 feet under. You understand what I’m saying?</p><p>“What good is it going to do me or my fans if they put me in the Hall of Fame couple years after I pass away,” he asked. “What’s the point? What’s the point? Because they’ll make money over it?”</p><p>Pete Rose is far from the only legendary baseball player not enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Alleged and confirmed steroid users who are all over the home-run record books are not in Cooperstown. And Shoeless Joe Jackson is not enshrined because of the 1919 Black Sox scandal.</p><p>If Rose makes the Hall of Fame posthumously, there will be people who are angry because he did not get to see it. But there will also be some who are happy he gets his place among the game’s greats.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pete Rose made morbid Hall of Fame prediction in final interview before death

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/mlb-stories/mlb-news-pete-rose-mlb-reinstatement-push-gets-massive-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pete Rose MLB reinstatement push gets massive update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/MLB-news-Pete-Rose-reinstatement-push-gets-massive-update.jpg"></figure><h1>Pete Rose MLB reinstatement push gets massive update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-01T21:14:43-08:00">March 1st, 9:14pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-01T21:14:43-08:00">March 1st, 9:14pm</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He's a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic. In addition to sports writing, he works for Arizona Football in the Player Personnel and Recruiting department and formerly served as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-news-former-mlb-all-star-calls-change-pete-rose-hall-of-fame-eligibility">family of baseball legend Pete Rose is making one final push</a> to clear his name from Major League Baseball’s ineligible list. Commissioner Rob Manfred is <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44071919/sources-manfred-mulling-family-request-remove-rose-ineligible-list" rel="noopener">currently reviewing a petition</a> filed on January 8 by Rose’s family, seeking his posthumous reinstatement.</p><p>The move comes decades after Rose, MLB’s all-time hit leader, was banned from baseball in 1989 for betting on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds. Jeffrey Lenkov, a lawyer who represented Rose before his passing in September 2024, submitted the petition along with Rose’s eldest daughter, Fawn Rose. The two had met with Manfred and MLB spokesman Pat Courtney in December to discuss the matter.</p><p>“The commissioner was respectful, gracious, and actively participated in productive discussions regarding removing Rose from the ineligible list,” Lenkov said. “We are seeking reinstatement so that we can pursue his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which had long been his desire and is now being sought posthumously by his family.”</p><h2><b>Can President Trump get Pete Rose reinstated by MLB?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Pete-Rose-1.jpg"><figcaption>David Kohl-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>This <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/mlb-news-pete-rose-posthumous-complete-pardon-donald-trump">renewed effort coincides with former President Donald Trump’s announcement</a> that he plans to pardon Rose. In a social media post on Friday, Trump declared, “Over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete pardon of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on his team winning.” Trump added that Rose “had the most hits, by far, in baseball history, and won more games than anyone in sports history.”</p><p>Rose was never formally charged for gambling but did serve five months in prison in 1990 after pleading guilty to tax evasion. Lenkov stated that he had not actively sought White House intervention, but noted, “Pete would have appreciated the president’s commitment to him.”</p><p>MLB sources confirmed that Manfred is indeed reviewing the petition, though it remains unclear whether he will rule in favor of reinstating Rose. When Manfred previously denied Rose’s request in 2015, he cited the need to “protect the integrity of play on the field.”</p><p>Despite his ban, Rose’s legacy remains undeniable. Over his 24-year career, primarily spent with the Reds, he set MLB records for hits (4,256), games played, at-bats, and singles. However, in 1991, the Baseball Hall of Fame passed a rule preventing any player on MLB’s ineligible list from appearing on a Hall of Fame ballot—a move widely known as the “Pete Rose rule.”</p><p>While Rose had multiple opportunities to regain eligibility during his lifetime, he declined an early 2000s offer from then-Commissioner Bud Selig that required him to formally admit to betting on baseball and refrain from gambling activities. In 2004, Rose did acknowledge gambling while managing the Reds but insisted he never bet against his team.</p><p>With Rose’s passing last year, some within MLB circles have suggested that bans should no longer apply posthumously. Lenkov echoed this sentiment, stating, “Legally, the lifetime ban is over. His lifetime is over.”</p><p>The Hall of Fame has yet to indicate whether it would reconsider Rose’s eligibility if Manfred lifts the ban. “If he is taken off that list, there’s still no guarantee he gets in,” Lenkov said. “But if he does, imagine the outpouring of emotion at his induction. It would be a moment baseball fans would never forget.” For now, the decision rests in Manfred’s hands. Whether Rose’s family can finally achieve the recognition he long sought remains to be seen.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pete Rose MLB reinstatement push gets massive update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-terry-francona-farce-reason-eye-opening-abs-request');   ga('set', 'title', 'Reds’ Terry Francona gives ‘farce’ reason for eye-opening ABS request');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Reds-news-Terry-Francona-gives-farce-reason-for-eye-opening-ABS-request.jpg"></figure><h1>Reds’ Terry Francona gives ‘farce’ reason for eye-opening ABS request</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-23T11:55:48-08:00">February 23rd, 11:55am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-23T11:55:48-08:00">February 23rd, 11:55am</time><address><a>Ryan Bologna</a>Ryan Bologna is an author at ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>New Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona plans to <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/43955189/terry-francona-asks-reds-veterans-not-use-abs-challenges" rel="noopener">opt out of elective participation</a> in the automated ball-strike challenge trial during spring training, but he is still willing to let the organization’s minor league players get accustomed to the system</p><p>ABS is a system that is being tried out at 13 ballparks in spring training, and it allows pitchers, hitters and catchers an immediate objection to a ball-strike call. It has been used in minor league parks in the past, and MLB is not fully adopting the system. Teams are allowed two challenges a game, and they must come from on-field players and not a manager. Francona and the Reds’ starters are apparently not going to utilize the system.</p><p>“I’m OK with seeing our younger kids do it because they’ve done it,” Terry Francona said, via Field Level Media. “It’s not a strategy for [the MLB teams], so why work on it? I don’t want to make a farce of anything, but we’re here getting ready for a season and that’s not helping us get ready.”</p><p>ABS has been used at various points so far in spring training, with the first being in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ game against the Chicago Cubs.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-terry-francona-manager">Francona is returning to MLB with the Reds</a> after a year off in 2024. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cleveland-guardians/guardians-news-terry-francona-retirement-confirmation">He retired as manager of the Cleveland Guardians at the end of the 2023 season</a>, with health being cited as a reason. The Reds will be his fourth team that he has managed. He spent four years with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1997-2000. He was with the Boston Red Sox from 2004-2011, winning World Series championships in 2004 and 2007. Then, he was withh the Guardians from 2013-2023, winning the American League pennant in 2016.</p><p>The Reds are hoping that Francona can help lead this young Reds team back to contention, as the roster has a lot of young talent, but it has not manifested in playoff baseball as of yet.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Reds’ Terry Francona gives ‘farce’ reason for eye-opening ABS request

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruzs-declaration-859-feet-home-runs-spring-debut');   ga('set', 'title', 'Elly De La Cruz’s declaration after 859 feet of home runs in spring debut for Reds');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Elly-De-La-Cruzs-declaration-after-859-feet-of-home-runs-in-spring-debut.jpg"></figure><h1>Elly De La Cruz’s declaration after 859 feet of home runs in spring debut for Reds</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-23T11:15:11-08:00">February 23rd, 11:15am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-23T11:15:11-08:00">February 23rd, 11:15am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management and for a while ran his own sports website. Sports are his passion, and he thoroughly enjoys writing about thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. He has been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston and loves discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cincinnati Reds</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/perfect-trade-reds-must-make-before-2025-spring-training">Cincinnati Reds are getting ready for the 2025 campaign</a>, and on Saturday, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/reds-news-terry-francona-sends-fiery-message-to-elly-de-la-cruz-before-spring-training">star shortstop Elly De La Cruz</a> made his 2025 spring training debut for the team. After clubbing two home runs in the game, De La Cruz shared a confident message after the game, indicating that he is ready for the new season to get underway.</p><p>De La Cruz only got two at bats in the Reds contest against the Cleveland Guardians, but he made the most of them. In the bottom of the first, he took Triston McKenzie deep from the left side of the plate. Three innings later, batting on the right side of the plate, De La Cruz hit another bomb. With two homers in two at bats, De La Cruz <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/elly-de-la-cruz-hits-two-home-runs-in-spring-training-debut" rel="noopener">sent a confident message</a> in the wake of the Reds 6-3 win.</p><p>“We’re ready to go,” De La Cruz said after his big game. “Left side, right side, it always feels good [to homer].”</p><h2><b>Reds hoping Elly De La Cruz can follow up electrifying 2024 campaign</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Reds-shortstop-Elly-De-La-Cruz.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Frank Bowen IV-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>In his first full season in the majors, De La Cruz cemented himself as one of the game’s most electric stars. De La Cruz hit .259 with 25 home runs and 76 runs batted in, while also stealing a league-leading 67 bases. The result was him earning his first All-Star selection, while finishing eighth in the National League MVP race.</p><p>De La Cruz still has room to grow, as evidenced by his 218 strikeouts last season, which was the highest figure in the league. But so long as he continues to hit home runs and make electrifying plays on a daily basis, the Reds will be more than pleased. There’s still over a month to go until the regular season gets underway, but De La Cruz is already ready to embark on his third campaign in the majors.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cincinnati
Reds NEWS

CINCINNATI

REDS

CincinnatiReds NEWS

CINCINNATI

REDS

Cincinnati
Reds NEWS