“Over? Shohei Ohtani, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Freddie Freeman?” - Fans react as Elly De La Cruz says he’ll be on the cover of MLB The Show 25

Elly De La Cruz, one of the most unique baseball players in the sport, announced on social media that he'd be the next cover athlete for MLB The Show 25. Last year, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was on the cover, and he's being replaced by someone who stole 67 bases.

In his first full season in the MLB, De La Cruz hit .259 with 25 home runs, 76 RBIs, and 67 steals. He was a power-speed threat, and it seems to have landed him on the cover of the top baseball video game.

This hasn't sat well with fans of the sport, though. They believe the league missed out by naming the Cincinnati Reds star the cover athlete over some, in their eyes, more deserving candidates.

"Should’ve been Ichiro or Skenes, Elly is a very very average player with above average athleticism," one said.

"Ahh yes let’s put Elly de la strikeout on the cover over Soto, Witt, Henderson, Lindor etc," another complained.

"Should’ve been the dodgers like Ohtani or Freeman," one said.

Not everyone was disappointed, though. Some fans liked the choice.

"I wanted Witt but this is cool too lol," one said.

"Best player in the league and it’s not even close," another chimed in.

"He’s good at stealing bases I see where they coming from," one noted.

Safe to say, Elly De La Cruz wasn't an overwhelmingly positive choice for the cover if the fans are to be believed.

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MLB The Show 25 announces three cover stars

Gunnar Henderson and Paul Skenes both posted that they were the real cover athlete along with Elly De La Cruz. That gives the gaming world three possible cover athletes. One of them will be the true, main cover star, but MLB The Show 25 is working in some interesting marketing trickery.

Who is the MLB The Show 25 cover star? (Imagn)

Based on the fact that three players have announced themselves as the cover star, there are a few options. One, this is all subterfuge to get everyone talking about the game.

Two, they're all going to be the cover athletes together like what EA Sports College Football 25 did with Donovan Edwards, Travis Hunter, and Quinn Ewers. Third, and finally, there could be alternative covers.

Sports games often have multiple versions and covers. These typically have legends or something like that instead of just different active players, but there's always the chance Sony San Diego is trying something new here.