Reds Superstar Turns Down Club-Record Extension

We all knew these days were coming. As soon as Elly De La Cruz hit the diamond in 2023 (and maybe even before that), it was clear Cincinnati had a superstar on their hand. In his 98 games that season, he wowed the crowds with a rare combination of power and speed, hitting 13 home runs and stealing 35 bases. But with each subsequent season, an uncomfortable question grew in the back of everyone’s mind: how long would such a dynamic player remain a Red?

Now, we have a bit more insight into the answer.

In an interview with C. Trent Rosecrans, Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall spoke about offering Elly a record breaking (for the Reds) extension, and its subsequent rejection.

“We made Elly an offer that would’ve made him the highest-paid Red ever. [But] 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.” - Nick Krall

The deal would have topped the extension that Joey Votto signed in 2012. That was for 10 years and $225 million and kept one of the best players in a Reds uniform for a decade. But Elly De La Cruz isn’t Joey Votto.

First and foremost the difference is his agent, Scott Boras, who is notorious for advising his clients to decline even the most lucrative contract extensions for a big payday in free agency. The most notable example is Juan Soto, who turned down a $440 million extension from the Nationals only to sign a record-breaking $765 million deal with the Mets in late 2024. And so it’s no surprise that Boras and De La Cruz turned down the very best the Reds could offer, as it’s peanuts compared to what they could rake in on the open market.

It is simply the reality of the current state of baseball. We live in a world where the Dodgers can shell out $240 million to Kyle Tucker like they were writing a check for groceries, and the New York Mets had to “settle” for a $126 million dollar deal with shortstop Bo Bichette after missing out on Tucker. Salaries are escalating higher and higher and it is going to leave the Reds scrambling to keep up.

The refreshing part of this story is that the Reds recognized what they needed to do early on: try to extend their best young player. Can they offer more money? Perhaps. Will they? Likely not, knowing their financial constraints and reluctance to spend. But one has to wonder if it would even be enough even if Cincinnati did offer the farm to Boras.

And De La Cruz is going to be one of the top players on the market when he hits it. Over his first three major-league seasons, he’s played 420 games with a .255 career batting average, 417 hits, 60 home runs, 206 RBIs, 274 runs scored, and 139 stolen bases, while posting a .773 OPS overall. He has a personality built for stardom, and is a rare combination of size, speed, and power that the mega franchises in baseball in the big markets will be drooling over.

And he’s slowly but surely improving. Last year, De La Cruz appeared in all 162 games and batted .264 with 166 hits, 22 home runs, 86 RBIs, 102 runs scored, 37 stolen bases, and a .777 OPS. While they aren’t league MVP type numbers yet, they demonstrate a clear potential for future success, especially surrounded by the all star lineups boasted by the league’s top teams.

When he was asked about the situation at Redsfest, Elly brushed the talk aside. “I let my agent take care of all of that,” he said, simply. It won’t be the last question he gets on the topic, as he’s under team control through the 2029 season. However, he will become eligible for salary arbitration beginning after the 2026 season (for the 2027 season) and the competing claims on both sides will be interesting to watch, especially if he really ramps up his performance next year.

So while this shouldn’t dampen anyone’s excitement for the upcoming season, it does serve as a reminder that the future for Elly and the Reds is likely finite. He won’t be here forever and so the team must make the moves necessary to take advantage of the time we do have.