NEW YORK – Not long after Elly De La Cruz’s first minor-league rehab game Friday night, Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona got the text.
“Be there tomorrow,” the Reds shortstop texted.
“I think he was joking, but it was kind of cool,” Francona said.
De La Cruz, who has been on the injured list since the end of May because of a hamstring injury, singled, homered and drew a walk in four plate appearances for Triple-A Louisville in that game – looking right on track (and then some, apparently) for his anticipated return to the lineup Tuesday at home against the Brewers.
De La Cruz, who also started at short in that rehab game, was to DH on Saturday and then play one more minor-league game Sunday before traveling to join the club for Tuesday’s game.
Asked if there actually was a scenario in which De La Cruz returns sooner, Francona said their original conversation before the rehab assignment was scheduled included such a scenario, but De La Cruz requested the third rehab game.
“When a player thinks he needs it, there’s no way we’re gonna say (no),” Francona said.
Meanwhile, the Reds get a key member of their injury-plagued bullpen back on the active roster Sunday when veteran setup man Pierce Johnson (3.27 ERA, 24 games) returns from a one-game rehab assignment.
Johnson, who traveled Saturday to join the club, has been sidelined three weeks because of elbow inflammation.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds’ RHP Pierce Johnson back from IL Sunday, SS Elly De La Cruz next
Reporting by Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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By Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
