Reds Place Elly De La Cruz On Injured List, Promote Edwin Arroyo
2:12pm: Francona said De La Cruz will probably miss two to four weeks, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
11:36am: The Reds announced Monday that they’ve placed star shortstop Elly De La Cruz on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right hamstring and recalled top infield prospect Edwin Arroyo from Triple-A Louisville for his major league debut. Cincinnati also selected the contract of lefty Brandon Leibrandt and designated right-hander Yunior Marté for assignment in a corresponding move. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reported that the Reds would place De La Cruz on the IL and promote Arroyo shortly before the formal team announcement.
De La Cruz suffered his hamstring injury in Sunday’s game. Upon driving a ball into the right-center field gap for what looked like an easy double — if not a triple, given his speed — he instead pulled up at first base in obvious pain (video link). A quick visit from the training staff concluded with an early exit from the game. He subsequently underwent an MRI that revealed the strain. Cincinnati has not yet provided a possible timeline for his potential return or revealed the grade of hamstring strain with which De La Cruz has been diagnosed. Manager Terry Francona will likely provide more details prior to tonight’s game against the visiting Royals.
An injury to the 24-year-old De La Cruz is about as impactful an injury absence as possible for Cincinnati. The switch-hitting dynamo was putting together perhaps the best season of his exciting young career, delivering a .280/.346/.509 slash (134 wRC+) with a dozen homers, 13 doubles (14, were it not for this injury), five triples and 10 steals. He’s hitting for power at the highest rate of his career, and after struggling immensely from the right-handed batter’s box through the first three seasons of his career, De La Cruz was having a breakout showing in that regard as well (.299/.342/.642 in 73 plate appearances versus southpaws).
If there’s a silver lining for Reds fans, it’s that the De La Cruz injury serves as a catalyst for the promotion of Arroyo — one of the hottest-hitting prospects in all of Minor League Baseball at the moment. A fellow switch-hitter, Arroyo is just 22 years old but was laying waste to Triple-A pitching with a .323/.383/.562 batting line through an even 250 plate appearances. He’s homered 11 times and added nine doubles, five triples and nine steals. He’s been hitting at a particularly absurd level over the past month: .368/.406/.705.
Originally drafted by the Mariners with the No. 48 overall pick back in 2021, Arroyo was traded to the Reds as part of the deal sending Luis Castillo back to Seattle. He was a consensus top-100 prospect at the time. His stock dipped in subsequent seasons, in no small part due to a shoulder injury that required surgery and wiped out his entire 2024 season. However, Arroyo’s torrid 2026 output has thrust him onto the tail end of the top-100 lists at MLB.com and Baseball America. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel listed him as the top riser in Cincinnati’s system just this morning, noting that Arroyo’s power looks to be back in full force after an understandable dip last year in the return from that shoulder operation. Arroyo hit just three long balls in 120 games last year.
Arroyo has primarily been a shortstop in his professional career, but he’s played some second base and third base in recent seasons as well — likely in recognition that shortstop isn’t going to be opening up in Cincinnati anytime soon, so long as De La Cruz remains healthy. He’ll step into De La Cruz’s shortstop spot for the time being, but if Arroyo hits the ground running, it’s not at all out of the question that he could parlay this initial call to the majors into a more prominent role at third base and/or second base once De La Cruz returns. Neither third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes nor second baseman Matt McLain has hit at all this season — and that’s egregiously true in the case of the former (.142/.195/.225 in 128 plate appearances). Hayes is currently on the injured list a disk injury in his back, continuing a long history of back ailments.
The 33-year-old Leibrandt is the son of former big league pitcher Charlie Leibrandt. He’s pitched in parts of two minor league seasons: the 2020 campaign with Miami and the 2024 season with Cincinnati. He’s allowed nine runs in 15 1/3 major league frames. The younger Leibrandt has been tagged for a 5.23 ERA in 11 Triple-A starts this season, though a disproportionate amount of the damage against him came in his most recent start. Leibrandt logged a solid enough 4.29 ERA through his first 10 starts before being tattooed for six runs in just 1 1/3 innings against the Twins’ Triple-A club last time out.
Injuries have thinned out both the Cincinnati bullpen and rotation. The Reds have Hunter Greene, Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson all on the injured list. Depth starters like Chase Petty, Julian Aguiar and Jose Franco have pitched poorly in Triple-A. The Reds already brought veteran Chris Paddack aboard following his release in Miami; he’s allowed a total of nine runs with eight strikeouts against seven walks across a trio of five-inning starts. In the bullpen, relievers Graham Ashcraft, Emilio Pagan and Pierce Johnson are on the injured list; Ashcraft was recently placed directly on the 60-day IL due to a UCL sprain.
Marté, 31, was just called up last Friday when Ashcraft hit the IL. The journeyman right-hander appeared in one game, faced six batters and allowed five of them to reach. He wound up being charged with four runs in one-third of an inning. Marté has pitched in parts of four MLB seasons, totaling 113 2/3 innings with a 5.94 ERA. He throws hard and can miss bats but has regularly shown shaky command while struggling to limit damage against left-handed hitters in particular. He’ll be traded, placed on waivers or released within the next five days.
Elly De La Cruz To Undergo MRI On Right Hamstring
Elly De La Cruz left the Reds’ 6-4 win over the Braves today due to what the club described as right hamstring tightness. The star shortstop cracked a line drive to the gap in right-center field during the fifth inning, yet held up at first base in obvious discomfort, and then left the game after a visit from team trainers.
Manager Terry Francona told reporters (including the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Pat Brennan) that De La Cruz will undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the extent of the injury. De La Cruz believes he avoided a serious injury, telling the media via a translator that “when I was making the turn for first, I felt tightness in my hamstring and immediately I decide to stop because I felt like ‘if I keep going, this can get worse.’ ”
The Reds host the Royals for a three-game series that begins on Monday, and then have an off-day on Thursday. If the MRI results don’t show anything serious but De La Cruz is still feeling sore, the Reds could opt to play with a short bench during the Kansas City series in the hopes that four days off would allow De La Cruz to be ready for Friday’s game. Dane Myers‘ status is also a factor since the outfielder has missed the last two games due to illness, so if Myers isn’t feeling better by tomorrow, Cincinnati likely wouldn’t want to play with two players unavailable.
Through 58 games, De La Cruz is on pace for what would be the best yet of his four Major League seasons. De La Cruz had two singles, two runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base in his abbreviated outing today, and he is now hitting .280/.346/.509 with 12 homers over 257 plate appearances. Only six qualified hitters in baseball have more than De La Cruz’s 2.5 fWAR, as he has matched his offensive production with improved glovework at shortstop.
Losing De La Cruz for even a 10-day IL stint would be a tough blow to a top-heavy Reds lineup. Outsized contributions from De La Cruz, Sal Stewart, and (in smaller sample sizes) Nathaniel Lowe and JJ Bleday have helped cover for underwhelming starts from several other Cincinnati batters, not to mention shaky pitching from an injury-ravaged rotation and bullpen.
Matt McLain would likely take over at shortstop in the event of a De La Cruz injury, and highly-touted prospect Edwin Arroyo is on the 40-man roster and could be called up to provide infield depth. Between McLain’s struggles at the plate and Ke’Bryan Hayes‘ injury absence, the Reds’ recent lineups have seen Stewart and Eugenio Suarez split the third base and DH at-bats, Spencer Steer has been getting more time at second base, and the hot-hitting Lowe has gotten an increase in playing time at first base.
Elly De La Cruz Declined Franchise-Record Offer From Reds In 2025
The Reds made an unsuccessful effort at locking up Elly De La Cruz last spring. While details were sparse at the time, president of baseball operations Nick Krall revealed today the team made an official offer that would have topped their 10-year, $225MM franchise-record deal with Joey Votto.
“We made Elly an offer that would’ve made him the highest-paid Red ever,” Krall said (link via C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic). “That’s not where he is and you respect that. It’s their career. You keep going and you keep working on what you can do today.” De La Cruz opted not to go into specifics, telling fans at Redsfest only that he leaves contractual matters to his agent, Scott Boras.
The offer came on the heels of De La Cruz’s first full season in the big leagues. He hit 25 home runs and led the majors with 67 stolen bases while batting .259/.339/.471 in a little under 700 plate appearances. A switch-hitting shortstop with a massive power-speed combination, De La Cruz was a top 10 MVP finisher in his age-22 season. He had arguably been MLB’s #1 prospect before his promotion. It was enough for the Reds to safely consider him the face of the franchise.
As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, any extension above Votto money would have been a record for a player with fewer than two years of service. Julio Rodríguez holds that mark on his extension with the Mariners. That technically comes with a $210MM guarantee but has a massive escalator/option structure that could push the value closer to half a billion dollars. The player’s earning ceiling climbs as they approach arbitration. Fernando Tatis Jr. (14 years, $340MM) and Bobby Witt Jr. (11 years, $288.78MM) each commanded much bigger guarantees when they signed extensions at exactly two years of service.
Krall didn’t specify where the offer to De La Cruz would have landed in comparison to those precedents. Witt is an MVP-caliber player now but had some similarities to De La Cruz at the time he signed his extension over the 2023-24 offseason. He was also a former #1 prospect with the tools to be a franchise shortstop. Witt had hit .276/.319/.495 with 30 homers and 49 steals in the season preceding his long-term deal. He was already a star but had yet to level up to the player who’d win a batting title with an OPS pushing 1.000. Witt’s deal also built in four opt-out chances that could get him to free agency as early as his age-31 season — a time when a decade-long contract could be in the cards.
Whatever the specifics, De La Cruz has thus far opted to bet on himself. That’s the usual path for Boras Corporation clients, especially those who have yet to qualify for arbitration. He played on a pre-arbitration salary last year and will do the same in 2026. De La Cruz will qualify for arbitration next offseason and is under club control for four seasons. He’s on track to hit free agency at age 28.
De La Cruz’s production backed up a little bit in his second full season. He hit .264/.336/.440 with 22 longballs and 37 stolen bases. His average and on-base percentage were essentially unchanged, but his power and baserunning each took slight steps back. It’s unlikely to change much about how the Reds view him. De La Cruz started all but one game as the Reds battled for the National League’s final playoff spot. Krall said earlier in the offseason that De La Cruz played through a strained left quad. The injury and potential fatigue wore on him in the second half, as he hit .236/.303/.363 after the All-Star Break. He had carried a .284/.359/.495 slash with 25 steals into the Midsummer Classic.
Cincinnati will probably take another run at extension talks this spring, though it’d be a surprise if they get anything done. He’ll remain the team’s most important position player in either case. Krall made clear they’re committed to De La Cruz at shortstop, where he has a cannon arm but has led MLB in errors in consecutive seasons. He should lead the way offensively if he’s fully healthy, with his physical gifts giving him one of the highest ceilings in the league.
Reds Notes: Lineup, Free Agent Pursuits, De La Cruz
The Reds enter this offseason on the heels of a playoff berth that ended almost as quickly as it came, having been swept by the eventual World Series champion Dodgers in two games during the NL Wild Card series. There’s still reason for optimism headed into next year thanks to a fantastic rotation led by Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott, but Cincinnati’s offense could clearly use some help. It can be hard for a team with the Reds’ small market budget to make substantial upgrades via free agency, but Ken Rosenthal, Will Sammon, and Katie Woo of The Athletic write that the club can be flexible as it tries to upgrade the lineup thanks to their existing players’ significant positional versatility.
According to Rosenthal et al., the Reds’ lineup only has three truly locked down positions as things stand: recently acquired third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and star shortstop Elly De La Cruz are locked into the left side of the infield, and Noelvi Marte appears to be set as the club’s everyday right fielder going forward. Setting catcher (where the trio of Tyler Stephenson, Jose Trevino, and Ben Rortvedt seem fairly entrenched) aside, that leaves two outfield spots, two infield spots, and the DH slot for a host of players to jockey for playing time in. Spencer Steer, Sal Stewart, Matt McLain, Gavin Lux, TJ Friedl, Will Benson, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand makes seven players currently on the roster for five spots in the lineup, before any external additions. Steer and Friedl seem like the best bets of that group to be locked into regular playing time, though Stewart will surely get an extended opportunity as well coming off an impressive cup of coffee in the big leagues down the stretch.
Friedl has been one of Cincinnati’s best hitters in recent years. While he was limited to just 85 games by injuries in 2024, he earned some down-ballot MVP consideration for a four-win 2023 season where he hit 18 homers, stole 27 bases, and posted a 117 wRC+ in 138 games. This past year saw him look more or less recovered from his injury-plagued 2024, hitting .261/.364/.372 with less power and speed than he flashed in 2023 but a career-best 11.8% walk rate to make up for it. Friedl’s .364 on-base percentage ranked 17th in the majors among all qualified hitters this year, and he’s sure to be an asset to the Reds’ offense whether he ultimately ends up in left field or center field. Steer, meanwhile, has been more of a league average hitter in the past two seasons after enjoying a strong 2023 season, but has average 21 homers and 16 steals over the past three seasons.
Rosenthal et al. suggest that Steer could wind up at either first base or in left field, while Stewart could play either first or second base. With Friedl capable of playing either open outfield spot, Lux experienced at both second base and in left field, and McLain able to handle both the keystone and center, there’s plenty of room for moving parts in the Reds’ lineup. That’s good news for a team that needs to add offense, as the Reds can afford to be opportunistic and not worrying as much about positional fit. If an infielder like Jorge Polanco becomes available, it would be easy enough for the Reds to simply plug him into second base, leaving McLain and Lux to move around the diamond in utility roles while Stewart takes over first base, Steer slides to left and Friedl handles center. Alternatively, a first baseman like Ryan O’Hearn could push Stewart over to second, or an outfielder like Cedric Mullins could push Steer to first base.
Speculatively speaking, that would appear to leave McLain, Lux, Benson, and Encarnacion-Strand without a position headed into 2026, although Rosenthal et al. did suggest the possibility that Benson could platoon with an outfielder acquired in free agency, which could be sensible if the Reds were to land a right-handed bat with significant platoon splits like Rob Refsnyder. Keeping those players in the fold as depth to protect against injuries and under-performance would be a valid path to take for the Reds, though it’s also possible that a trade or two could be made at some point this winter that would help to thin the glut of positional talent jockeying for playing time.
Even as the team looks for external help in the lineup, there’s reason to believe improvements could be on the horizon internally next year, as well. Manny Randhawa and Mark Sheldon of MLB.com recently relayed comments from club GM Nick Krall regarding De La Cruz’s health this offseason. While Krall had previously suggested that De La Cruz played through a “partial tear” of his quadriceps late in the 2025 season, he later clarified that it was actually a quad strain that De La Cruz was dealing with. Quad strains are defined as a partial tear of the muscle, but Krall noted that his wording suggested the injury was more severe than it actually was.
Whatever the specifics of De La Cruz’s injury may have been, the fact that he was playing through something helps to explain his repeated defensive miscues at shortstop in the final months of the 2025 campaign, as well as his lackluster .236/.303/.363 slash line after the All-Star break this season. That creates some reason for optimism that De La Cruz will be able to rebound and turn in a performance closer to his 2024 form (when he hit 25 homers, stole 67 bases, and finished 8th in NL MVP voting) next year. For a Reds club that seems unlikely to broach the top of the market for hitters like Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber, having De La Cruz performing at a star level to anchor the lineup is all the more important.
Reds Plan To Keep Elly De La Cruz At Shortstop
Elly De La Cruz has led the league in errors the past two seasons, but the Reds intend to keep him at shortstop, at least for the time being. President of baseball operations Nick Krall spoke to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com for a piece about Cincinnati’s top prospects. With shortstop prospect Edwin Arroyo knocking on the door of the majors, Krall was asked if there were plans to move De La Cruz off the position. “As of right now, no,” Krall told Sheldon.
After posting 29 errors in 2024, De La Cruz racked up another 26 this past season. He’s been at least three errors clear of the next-closest defender in each of the past two seasons. Durability is somewhat at play here. De La Cruz has been remarkably healthy in his first two full seasons in the big leagues, appearing in at least 160 games both times. More games equal more fielding opportunities, though De La Cruz has also struggled on a per-chance basis. He finished with the third-worst fielding percentage among qualified players in 2025.
De La Cruz has tantalizing tools at the position. He averaged 92.2 mph on throws in 2025, which ranked in the 93rd percentile. De La Cruz posted standout marks in terms of range last season, with StatCast having him at 14 Outs Above Average. That mark plummeted to -3 this past year, though.
Center field has been rumored as a future destination for De La Cruz. It’s a path many struggling infielders have taken over the years, with Oneil Cruz serving as the most recent notable example. Cruz finished second in errors last season with 26. While a couple of those miscues came in the outfield, 24 of them were at shortstop. Pittsburgh moved Cruz to the outfield full-time in 2025, opting to go with the sure-handed Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop.
While Arroyo might not be an immediate MLB option, Cincinnati has alternatives already on the big-league roster. Matt McLain made 52 starts at the position when he first debuted in 2023. The same goes for Noelvi Marte, who played a handful of games at shortstop when he first joined the Reds. Santiago Espinal has plenty of experience up the middle, but he’s likely ticketed for a utility role. Cincinnati now has Ke’Bryan Hayes at third base to buttress the left side of the infield, which should allow some flexibility with the shortstop decision.
No matter where he plays, De La Cruz’s bat will be in the lineup. He’s been the engine of the offense the past two seasons, topping 20 homers and scoring 100+ runs in back-to-back years. De La Cruz has at least 35 stolen bases in all three of his MLB seasons, including a league-leading 67 swipes in 2024. De La Cruz has trimmed his strikeout rate in each year of his career. He hit a career-best .264 this past season.
Despite De La Cruz’s struggles, Cincinnati only had the 11th-most errors last season. They ranked 21st in fielding percentage. A full season of Hayes should boost those marks.
Reds Notes: Hays, De La Cruz, Lowder
The Reds completed a four-game sweep of the Cubs over the weekend. They’ve won five straight and pulled into a tie with the reeling Mets for the National League’s last playoff spot. Cincinnati went 4-2 against New York, meaning they have the tiebreaker. They also hold the tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks, who find themselves one game back.
Cincinnati now controls their own destiny. They’re off tonight before hosting the Pirates for three games. They finish the year with a weekend set in Milwaukee. That’s a tough series on paper, but the Brewers could have already secured home field advantage through the postseason depending on the result of their ongoing series against the Padres.
As they enter that critical stretch, the Reds are facing a potential absence from their left fielder. Austin Hays made an early exit from Saturday’s game with back spasms. He sat out yesterday’s series finale. Manager Terry Francona said on Saturday the team is hopeful that Hays will be ready for the start of the Pittsburgh series tomorrow (via the MLB.com injury tracker). The off day gives him a little extra rest.
If Hays is unable to go, Cincinnati could kick Will Benson to left field and plug Noelvi Marte in right. Pittsburgh is set to run a trio of right-handed starting pitchers — Johan Oviedo, Paul Skenes and Braxton Ashcraft — against Cincinnati. Hays hits in the middle of the lineup regardless of handedness, but he does most of his damage against left-handers.
A bigger factor for Cincinnati is getting their franchise player on track. The Reds have made their push back into the playoff picture despite a disappointing stretch from Elly De La Cruz. The switch-hitting shortstop has hit .212/.271/.315 in almost 200 trips to the plate since the beginning of August. He homered off Porter Hodge on Friday, his first longball in more than six weeks. The slump got to a point where Francona felt he needed to drop De La Cruz in the batting order. He has hit sixth or seventh over the past week after operating as the team’s #3 hitter for the entire season.
De La Cruz still has decent numbers overall. He’s up to 20 homers with a .263/.336/.436 batting line across 673 plate appearances. He’s tied for sixth in MLB with 36 stolen bases. Yet he clearly hasn’t played to his potential over the past few weeks. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic observed over the weekend that De La Cruz has played through a pair of leg injuries (quad and hamstring) while starting all but one of the team’s 156 games. He certainly won’t come out of the lineup at this stage of the season, but it’s possible he’s battling fatigue.
On the pitching side, rookie right-hander Rhett Lowder seems likely to miss the entire season. The 2023 seventh overall pick has been on the injured list all year because of forearm and oblique injuries. Lowder made a two-inning rehab appearance at Triple-A Louisville on September 13. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes that he was scratched from his second scheduled rehab outing after feeling that his shoulder didn’t recover as hoped from the first.
Lowder has already undergone imaging that came back clean, but it’s yet another setback that makes it difficult to imagine him returning even if the Reds make a deep playoff run. The Triple-A season is over, so Lowder won’t get any more game action. The Wake Forest product impressed late last season, working to a 1.17 ERA through his first six MLB starts.
Krall: Reds Have Discussed Elly De La Cruz Extension, “No Talks…Currently Happening”
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 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.
Reds Notes: Martinez, Offseason, De La Cruz
Nick Martinez accepted the Reds’ $21.05MM qualifying offer this week, making him the lone player of the 13 who received a QO to accept that one-year deal. The two parties talked about a potential multi-year deal before the 34-year-old righty accepted, and while talks on a multi-year deal are reportedly on hold for now, Martinez suggested that he’s still open to such an arrangement and has received no indication from the club that talks won’t pick up down the line (links via Mark Sheldon of MLB.com and C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic).
“Accepting the qualifying offer doesn’t limit us from talking, so I’m definitely still open to it if that helps mitigate costs for this year or sign more guys,” Martinez said yesterday (via Rosecrans). Via Sheldon (on BlueSky), he added: “To my understanding, [discussing a multi-year deal] is still on the table.”
Martinez’s $21.05MM salary puts the Reds right back at their 2024 payroll level, per RosterResource’s projections. Reds COO Doug Healy said last week that the 2025 payroll would be “at or above” last year’s roughly $100MM level. A $21MM salary for Martinez doesn’t leave tons of wiggle room, and the Reds haven’t divulged just how far “above” that $100MM level they’d be comfortable spending. Working out a two- or three-year deal with Martinez that might reduce his 2025 salary would give the Reds more flexibility and also allow them to further extend their control over a player who president of baseball ops Nick Krall called a “great team guy” and a “lead-by-example guy.”
Prior to the Reds’ surprise decision to tender a QO to Martinez, MLBTR had penciled Martinez in for a three-year, $39MM contract on our annual Top 50 Free Agent rankings. The Athletic’s Tim Britton offered a very similar three-year, $40MM prediction. A deal in that range could allow the Reds to trim several million off Martinez’s 2025 salary — perhaps even more, if the team is willing to backload the deal so Martinez’s salaries are greater in 2026-27, when other contracts will be coming off the books. Emilio Pagán is earning $8MM in 2025 but is a free agent at season’s end. Jeimer Candelario is signed for two more years and earning more in ’25 ($15MM) than in ’26 ($12MM).
Among the Reds’ other goals in free agency are adding a bat to the lineup, deepening the bullpen and, per Sheldon, improving the team’s overall defense. Landing a corner outfield bat has long seemed like a viable target for the Reds, with Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández, Tyler O’Neill, Jurickson Profar, Michael Conforto and Max Kepler among the non-Soto tier of free agent possibilities. Again, bringing Martinez back at a weighty price point complicates the pursuit of such hitters, but all should sign contracts that are within reasonable proximity to the Reds’ prior free agent thresholds. Cincinnati has in the past signed both Nick Castellanos and Mike Moustakas to four-year, $64MM free agent deals, for instance. Santander will very likely command a larger guarantee than that, but the others should come in at or below (well below, for Conforto and Kepler) that type of total commitment and/or annual value.
One other area of focus for the Reds this winter will be making incremental improvements to Elly De La Cruz‘s already impressive game, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. One of the game’s most dynamic talents and still just 22 years old, the 6’5″ De La Cruz wowed with 25 homers, 67 steals and a .259/.339/.471 batting line while playing 160 games and spending every inning he was in the lineup at shortstop. Krall specifically voiced a desire to work with De La Cruz on whittling away at his 31.3% strikeout rate — a mark that’s already down a bit from his 33.7% rate as a 21-year-old in 2023.
Interestingly, Krall noted that “a lot of our guys” are in that same boat, perhaps foreshadowing one of the traits he’ll look for as he looks to bolster his lineup this winter. With regard to De La Cruz, however, both Krall and GM Brad Meador emphasized to Wittenmyer that even with a crowded infield mix and prospect Edwin Arroyo on the rise, De La Cruz is the team’s shortstop for the foreseeable future. Krall and Meador spoke of working with De La Cruz to tighten up his defense on routine plays and scale back outs made on the basepaths, though the team is surely thrilled with the overall quality of their budding star shortstop’s performance. De La Cruz is under club control for at least five more seasons and likely won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2026-27 offseason.
NL Central Notes: Chourio, Pirates, De La Cruz, Cubs, Glasnow
Jackson Chourio‘s impending extension with the Brewers is expected to be made official within the next few days, and the eight-year, $82MM pact will give the 19-year-old Chourio the largest contract ever given to a (non-NPB) player prior to his big league debut. “It’s happened very quick — way quicker than I thought,” Chourio told reporter Andrew Wagner (X link) while the outfielder and agent Cesar Suarez attended a Milwaukee Bucks game yesterday, though Chourio and Suarez both stopped short of confirming an agreement was in place.
“Obviously I’m very happy that the organization believes in me and thinks so highly of me,” Chourio said. “At the same time, there’s been a lot of hard work and now I’m getting rewarded so I want to continue to [work hard] and continue to succeed with the team.”
Regarded as one of baseball’s top prospects, Chourio has looked great during his three pro seasons, though his Triple-A experience consists of only six games. The contract makes it likely but not a guarantee that Chourio will be the Brewers’ starting center fielder on Opening Day, yet even if he does need a bit more seasoning in the minors before making his big league debut, there’s no doubt Chourio is a huge part of Milwaukee’s future.
More from around the NL Central…
- The Pirates‘ signing of Ali Sanchez this week added a fourth catcher to the Bucs’ 40-man roster, as Sanchez joins Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez, and Jason Delay. This seeming surplus makes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonder if the Pirates are adding depth in advance of a trade, perhaps even a headline-grabbing move that would see Rodriguez dealt for a controllable young pitcher. Of course, Sanchez’s addition could also mean that the Pirates have again changed their mind about Davis being an option behind the plate, as the former first overall pick played right field almost exclusively during his 2023 rookie season.
- The Reds have so many promising young infielders both in the minors and already on the MLB roster that it remains to be seen how exactly Cincinnati will line up these players around the diamond. Elly De La Cruz has no problem with a potential position change, telling the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith that “wherever the team needs me, that’s where I’m going to play….For me, it doesn’t matter where I play. I just want to play. I’m going to have fun wherever I am. I just want to play as much as possible.” De La Cruz played shortstop and third base during his rookie season, with public defensive metrics favoring his work at the hot corner. Though Edwin Arroyo might end up being the longer-term defensive answer at shortstop, the Reds seem likely to use De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte at third base and shortstop in some fashion in 2024, though Matt McLain could very well figure into the shortstop plans as well if he isn’t at second base (or if Jonathan India isn’t traded).
- Tyler Glasnow and the Cubs were linked in trade rumors earlier this week, and The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma writes that “nothing has changed too much over the past week” and “nothing seemed close to done, certainly not with the Cubs” on the Glasnow front as of yesterday. In terms of what the Rays might want, Sharma believes Tampa Bay is looking for a controllable young pitcher as the headliner in a Glasnow trade package. This might not necessarily be a fit for a Chicago team that is trying to build its young pitching depth, though Glasnow has been on the Cubs’ radar as a trade candidate for a few years.
Reds Seen As Increasingly Likely To Trade Jonathan India
Reds second baseman Jonathan India, the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year, saw his name pop up on the rumor circuit over the summer and has already been an oft-cited trade candidate in the early stages of the offseason. Recent reports from Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Jeff Passan of ESPN do little to quell the belief that the 26-year-old could change hands this winter. Nightengale wrote over the weekend that Cincinnati is “expected” to trade India this offseason, while Passan writes this morning that the Reds have been suggesting to potential trade partners that India is the “odd man out” in their glut of infielders.
Indeed, the Reds have an enviable crop of young talent on the dirt. Beyond India, they saw former first-round pick Matt McLain, top prospect Elly De La Cruz and trade acquisitions Spencer Steer, Noelvi Marte and Christian Encarnacion-Strand all log time in the big leagues.
McLain was the most impressive of the bunch, hitting .290/.357/.507 with 16 homers and 14 steals in 403 trips to the plate. De La Cruz faded after a hot start but still posted a .235/.300/.410 line with 13 homers and a whopping 35 steals in just 98 games — all while recording intriguing batted-ball metrics per Statcast and showing off his elite speed. Steer, meanwhile, bounced between first base, second base, third base and the outfield corners while delivering a .271/.356/.464 output and 23 homers. Encarnacion-Strand (.270/.328/.477, 13 homers in 241 plate appearances) and Marte (.316/.366/.456 in 123 plate appearances) saw less time than the others but acquitted themselves nicely in their MLB debuts.
It’s an immensely talented quintet — one with plenty of defensive versatility. It seems likely that Encarnacion-Strand will settle in at first base and designated hitter, and Steer clearly enjoyed success at the plate in a nomadic, jack-of-all-trades role (even if he graded as a below-average defender at all five positions). Each of De La Cruz, Marte and McLain can handle shortstop, third base or second base. De La Cruz saw the most time at shortstop of the bunch but also posted lesser defensive grades than McLain. The Reds can tinker with the exact alignment in spring training, but regardless of who’s manning which position, it’s hard not to be bullish on Cincinnati’s emerging core of young infielders.
Given that wealth of talent, it becomes easier to see how India could be the odd man out. He’s yet to replicate his excellent showing in that aforementioned Rookie of the Year campaign, when he batted .269/.376/.459 with 21 home runs, 23 doubles, 12 steals and an 11.3% walk rate. He’s since turned in a .246/.333/.394 batting line in 960 plate appearances, showing diminished power and a walk rate about three percentage points lower than his rookie mark. Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average both cast him as a poor defender at his position.
Due to his former draft status (fifth overall in 2018), prospect pedigree and that Rookie of the Year showing, many fans have speculated that India could be used to help the Reds acquire an upgrade for the front portion of their rotation. However, given India’s struggles with the glove and (over the past two seasons) at the plate, it doesn’t seem all that likely that he’d command a strong rotation piece on his own — or even as the headliner in a package also including lesser prospects.
India is entering his first arbitration season, projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $3.7MM in 2024, and remains controllable for another three seasons. Those factors, plus his age, are perhaps the Reds’ strongest selling points in trade talks. That said, India feels more like a buy-low candidate than many onlookers might expect for someone who looked like a Reds building block just two years ago. The absolute dearth of quality infield options on the free agent market will play to the Reds’ benefit in drumming up interest, but it seems unlikely that India will fetch them a major upgrade to the starting rotation.
MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald and I discussed India’s potential trade candidacy (among many other topics) on the upcoming episode of the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, and just this past weekend MLBTR’s Nick Deeds took a look at some potential landing spots for India in the event that the Reds ultimately do move him. India placed 11th on MLBTR’s list of the top 25 offseason trade candidates just yesterday.