Why All-Star Elly De La Cruz thought Kyle Schwarber to Reds was a 'done deal'

GOODYEAR, AZ — Bryce Harper isn’t the only one in baseball who thought a free agent marriage between the Cincinnati Reds and hometown slugger Kyle Schwarber was imminent over the winter.

“I thought we were going to get him,” Reds star shortstop Elly De La Cruz said. “That was gonna be fun.”

When Schwarber and his wife were leaving a meeting with team officials at Great American Ball Park a few days before Thanksgiving, De La Cruz ran into him in the parking lot on the way to a rehab and training session.