“It has a lot of meaning,” Torres said. “Whatever he takes out of it and whatever I take out of it may be different. But for me it means we’re there for each other. We’re going to pick each other up whatever happens.”
This season they haven’t had to pick each other up much. De La Cruz and Torres are one of the best double-play combinations to come through Dayton in the field and at the plate. De La Cruz is the Reds’ third-rated minor-league prospect and Torres is No. 17.
“He’s a phenom,” Torres says of De La Cruz, who at 6-foot-5 is considered a five-tool player. “He’s going to be an All-Star.”
Will Torres make the majors, too? “Oh, of course. He’s a big leaguer,” said De La Cruz, who is learning to speak English. Then in Spanish, he says – and Torres translates – “We’re big leaguers. They just haven’t seen us.”
Shared heritage
De La Cruz and Torres started life in the same place but took different paths to Dayton.
Torres was born in a rural area of the Dominican Republic in 1999. When he was 2 years old, and before De La Cruz was born four hours away in the capital, Torres moved to Baltimore with his father and older brother.
After two months, Torres moved to Miami. His mother stayed in the Dominican until Torres was 12 as she worked through the immigration process. Torres saw his mother on summer trips home. When she came to the U.S., the family moved back to Baltimore.
“He made it as good as could be,” Torres said of his father. “It’s always tough to be away from your parents. But we had to deal with it.”
Torres played college shortstop at North Carolina State and was drafted by the Reds in the third round last year.
De La Cruz was signed by the Reds as a 16-year-old and began playing in the Dominican Summer League when he was 17. He came to the U.S. last summer as a 19-year-old and quickly moved from the rookie league in Arizona to the Reds’ Low-A team in Daytona, Florida.
Now De La Cruz, 20, is a long way from his mother. He wears a gold medallion on a gold chain with her picture in it. He hasn’t seen her in over a year. When asked about her, he paused.
“He’s thinking about it so he can say it in English,” Torres said.
A couple more seconds passed, then De La Cruz said in English: “Because everything, what I do in the field, is for my mom. Every morning when I wake up, I see this picture and I say amigo. I love my mom.”
‘We just clicked’
De La Cruz arrived in Daytona last July 16. Torres became his teammate a month later.
“Once I met him, we just clicked,” Torres said. “I don’t know what it was, but it was right from the get-go. We love talking baseball. We love being around each other.”
They became roommates during the fall instructional league in Arizona. They share an apartment in Dayton. But they don’t quite agree on everything, particularly who’s the better cook.
“Sometimes it’s not very good, but I try my best,” Torres said while De La Cruz sat at the other end of the dugout. “He says he does, but he doesn’t get down and dirty and cook.”
When the interview shifted to De La Cruz, he wanted to know what Torres had said. “You’re going to read it later,” Torres said and laughed.
The topic of cooking came up and that Torres said he was the better cook.
“No,” De La Cruz said, shook his head and said something in Spanish.
“He said I’m not a good cook,” Torres said. “I tried in Arizona, and it wasn’t very good, but at least I tried.”
“He tried in Arizona, rice,” De La Cruz said, then said the Spanish word for bad.
“I don’t like to, but I know how,” De La Cruz said with confidence.
They agree that De La Cruz is the better video game player. De La Cruz says, “In 2K, I win. In the (MLB The) Show, I win.” They laugh. Torres admits, “He’s better than me. He also plays more than me.”
While Torres has helped De La Cruz adjust to life in the U.S., De La Cruz has helped Torres appreciate and reconnect to his Dominican roots.
“The way the Dominicans compose themselves, especially on the field, the energy they bring, they’re always happy,” Torres said. “We enjoy the game. So once you enjoy something you do, you find it more relaxing. This game is way too hard for you to be in your head all day, every day. You’ve got to step away and make sure you’re enjoying the game.”
De La Cruz’s joy comes through in his smile and in the way he bounces around the infield. When the batter doesn’t swing and De La Cruz thinks it’s a strike, he helps the umpire by extending his right arm.
“I started to do that when I came to play in Arizona last year,” De La Cruz said through Torres. “I just want to be in the game and be active. If the ump doesn’t call it a strike, I take it away right away to make sure they don’t see it.”
De La Cruz also makes the biggest fashion statement on the team with a pair of orange, wraparound shades. They are a gift from Torres.
“Friendship,” Torres said. “We share everything. Whatever he needs, I’m there for him. Whatever I need, he’s there for me.”
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