During an interview on “The Front Office” on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall stated that the team had reached out to Elly De La Cruz’s camp about a long-term extension. The timing of these discussions wasn’t specified, though it can be assumed that the two sides met either this past offseason or even in the 2023-24 offseason following De La Cruz’s rookie year.
“We made a run at it and obviously didn’t get anything done,” Krall said. “We’ve had those conversations and that’s not something that we’ve been able to obviously match up on. So hopefully maybe there’s something there, but as of right now, there’s nothing, there’s no talks that are currently happening.”
De La Cruz is under team control through the 2029 season, so there isn’t any immediate need for the Reds to lock the star shortstop up. Naturally there’s plenty of benefit to both extending De La Cruz beyond those controllable years, and even in gaining some cost certainty over through his arbitration years. EDLC could also gain another year of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player, should he qualify under the next cutoff point in November. We can safely assume that De La Cruz won’t be optioned to the minors this season, so he’ll finish 2025 with two years and 118 days of MLB service time — this happens to be the exact Super Two cutoff point in 2023, though that was one of the lower numbers of the last 15 years.
Gaining Super Two status would add millions to De La Cruz’s future earnings, and only add to what will already be a pricey endeavor for the Reds in extending their young star. De La Cruz is also represented by the Boras Corporation, and most (though certainly not all) Scott Boras clients generally test free agency rather than forego the market to instead sign a long-term extension.
An unheralded international signing in 2018, De La Cruz started to turn heads as a potential future star during the 2021 minor league season, then quickly gathered attention as an elite five-tool prospect. The hype has only continued through De La Cruz’s three Major League seasons, as he has hit .261/.341/.475 with 40 home runs and a league-best 87 stolen bases over 1001 plate appearances since Opening Day 2024.
Only eight players in the sport having a higher fWAR than De La Cruz’s 8.5 number in that span, even if public defensive metrics are mixed on his shortstop ability. The Reds’ once-vaunted stockpile of infield prospects has been diminished by injuries and under-performance, but the 23-year-old De La Cruz has emerged as the clear jewel of the group, so he looks like a mainstay even if Cincinnati perhaps explores a shift to third base down the road.
De La Cruz’s modest beginnings could perhaps work in the Reds’ favor for an extension, as De La Cruz’s career earnings consist of just his $65K signing bonus in 2018 and his minimum MLB salaries of his first couple of seasons in the Show. He has been able to cash in with some high-profile endorsement deals, but De La Cruz doesn’t quite have the financial security that other prospects (i.e. high draft picks with larger signing bonuses) achieved before they even reached the majors.
This could make De La Cruz a little more open to locking in a life-changing fortune sooner rather than later, even if Boras isn’t likely to make it easy for the Reds to get any kind of hometown discount. EDLC will hit free agency entering his age-28 season, so he’ll have plenty of prime years remaining as he reaches the open market. If he happens to reach Super Two eligibility and get his first arb year this coming winter, he’ll already lock in a hefty first-time arbitration salary for 2026 based on the counting numbers he has posted in his young career. All things considered, it would seem like De La Cruz could safely bet on himself to stay healthy and keep earning big throughout his arb years, with or without a Super Two designation.
The other key question is whether or not a smaller market team like the Reds is willing to make the type of major investment it will take to extend De La Cruz. Joey Votto’s ten-year, $225MM extension from the 2012 season is the largest contract in Cincinnati history, and any long-term extension for De La Cruz will naturally far surpass that 13-year-old deal. Bobby Witt’s 11-year, $288.78MM extension with the Royals from February 2024 is a more recent comp for a young star shortstop, though given how mega-deals for Juan Soto (a Boras client) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have raised the bar on baseball salaries just within the last seven months, Boras will surely be looking at least top the $300MM threshold.
Kansas City’s deal with Witt is a prime example of how lower-spending teams can go all in on a young star they view as the face of the franchise, so it is possible the Reds may view De La Cruz in the same light. Time will tell if De La Cruz and the Reds can find common ground on a deal, and if not, De La Cruz’s status as a forthcoming free agent (or potential trade chip) will become a major storyline in Cincinnati through the rest of the decade.
Get ready to speak Dodger buddy!
Elly De Los Angeles
Sure…Sasaki, Rushing, Ferris and Pages for Elly
How do you know he’s going to the Dodgers, though?
Gunner Henderson is a free agent first. He’s more likely.
elly will likely attract more $ than soto as a FA
how on earth will cincy compete with that potential $ figure? boras will never allow an extension
Elly has a 110 OPS+ over his first 329 games. He’s a toolshed and his 26% k-rate this year is improving (31% for career), but him getting Soto money would mean he needs to improve a ton.
Plus he’ll be a free agent at 28 so he won’t be getting a 15 year deal at that point.
I don’t think Elly gets more money than Soto total. Elly’s skills are not likely to age as well as Soto’s. Presumably, Soto can, at the very least, continue to get on base at an elite level well into his thirties. There is no way of knowing how long Elly will be able to maintain his elite athleticism, nor is there any way of knowing what kind of player he will be when his body inevitably slows down. There is a much wider range of potential outcomes for Elly’s future performance even before considering the fact that Elly is more likely to deal with injuries.
Many teams will want Elly. I doubt any will be willing to bet on his future production the way the Mets bet on Soto.
ELDC won’t get close to Soto money.
Soto shouldn’t have gotten Soto money
Wire,
He was as deserving of anyone of the biggest contract in MLB – and sports – history. Young, supremely talented, with hitting skills that tend to age very well.
And no one made the Mets offer him that contract.
6 teams felt differently. That’s the free market talking.
Judge should be the high water mark for all position players. Ohtani being a pitcher and his Asian market appeal justifies his contract but how can any position player rightfully ask for more than Judge? Soto’s contract is an outlier.
Judge signed 3 winters ago going into his age-31 season. Youth and inflation are significant factors.
Yeah Soto reaching free agency around the same age as Judge was his rookie year is the reason Soto got so much more.
Bora$ will make sure he breaks the bank. I said all along he’ll go bright lights, big city.
It’s not the kid’s fault, it’s the screwed up system we are dealing with for a couple decades now. A big reason why the average age of baseball fans are 50 plus.
Does this surprise anyone? He’ll be traded in year five, it’s their MO.
He definitely won’t be the only one.
That’s what the brewers do and it’s working for them
When was the last time the Brewers went to the World Series? 1982? And when was the last time they went deep in the playoffs?
You should demand better.
I mostly agree, I am envious that for the past decade they’ve a winning ballclub with a chance at the playoffs. And I’d rather the reds do that than these one off contention years followed by lengthy rebuilds.
Well, if you can’t sign him, then you trade him. I don’t see this ownership signing off on a $300M+ deal anyway so not sure what exactly Nick Krall can offer him besides a lifetime supply of Skyline chili?
A lifetime supply of Skyline could cost more than 300M$ at the current trend. A cup of that death sauce costs about 10$ now.
Elly is a star all right, but he’s not the greatest thing ever. He’s hitting under .300 and not close to the top in any stats except steals. Last year McClain was out playing him. Hopefully he will get better, but right now he’s a big fish in a small pond. I would still try to sign him, but he’s not in the Ohtani or Soto category yet
What???? McClain was injured all of last season and what does batting average really matter anymore? This isn’t 1982 dude. Al Oliver never won any Championships.
This man is up there with any player in the league and getting better by the day. If the league was restructured today and there was a redraft of all current players he would most likely be the first player taken. Stick to the football site.
This kid is a bonafide star. He just played my Tigers and killed us all 3 games. We had no answer for him. He also has a cannon for an arm in the outfield.
Hopefully there will be a salary cap/floor and greater to revenue sharing to even the playing field by the time he’s a free agent. Baseball would be better if small market teams weren’t simply farm teams for large markets.
Lol. You’re funny.
Salary cap in baseball. Hahahahaha!
That would ruin the sport. Why do you want owners to pocket their profits so much?
10/320 with 6/180 + option years in blocks of 2/65 then 2/75. Get it done!!!
Sign this man. Offer him 10 years and whatever he wants. His arm strength and sprint speed are tops in the majors and his bat speed is only eclipsed by Judge. His smile and overall exuberance to play the game is comparable to Griffey Jr. and he has learned English in only a year and a half.
Sign him. Throw money at him. Whatever he wants will be a bargain.
Yeah, no way we sign him to a LTC. But I’m just going to continue enjoying the hell out of watching Elly play baseball for the next 4.5 years that we have him. (Could trade him in 2029 if out of it, of course. But short of that, we have him for another 4.5 years. I love it.)
I’ve never been a big “this guy is my favorite player” guy. I’m just a big Reds fan.
Elly is my favorite player. Ever.
He’s a Boras client. The only way he’ll sign is to overpay. And the only way he’ll sign with Cincinnati is to overpay by a lot.
No one hires Boras to not go to free agency.