Elly De La Cruz planning interesting move with Shohei Ohtani at All-Star Weekend

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) jogs in to the dugout in the middle of the fourth inning during a baseball game between the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds, Saturday, July 1, 2023, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Photo Credit: Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Elly De La Cruz is about to show off yet another one of his many talents — multilingualism.

The Cincinnati Reds shortstop De La Cruz, who was just named to his first career All-Star team, revealed this week that he is planning an interesting move with Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. De La Cruz said that he is practicing Japanese so that he can speak to Ohtani when they are teammates at All-Star Weekend.

“I’m learning Japanese to talk to Shohei,” said De La Cruz. “I don’t know if I’m gonna learn, but I’m trying.”

Elly De La Cruz is learning to speak Japanese so he can talk with Shohei Ohtani pic.twitter.com/vpEmJQiIHf

— MLB (@MLB) July 8, 2024

The wholesome content is also very on-brand for the 22-year-old De La Cruz. A native of the Dominican Republic, De La Cruz made a point over the offseason of improving his English so that he could better relate to the local fans. The results of those efforts by De La Cruz have been impressive too.

De La Cruz and Ohtani already had a very memorable viral moment together last season. Now this season, we may just be treated to a conversation between the two in Ohtani’s native tongue.