The Cincinnati Reds aren’t one of MLB’s big-market teams. They aren’t able to land huge free agents with massive contracts.
To compete in the modern game, the Reds have to develop players well, and potentially convince them to stay when given the opportunity.
Even then, it can be tough. This season is a clear example. The Reds snuck into the playoffs last season but haven’t had a deep enough roster this year, and they’ve been well off the pace all season long.
When struggles combine with a lack of financial might, issues can compound in Major League Baseball.
That brings us to Elly De La Cruz.
De La Cruz is the best player on the Reds. He’s one of the best players in baseball. He’s on pace to have a career-best OPS this season.
The lanky, athletic, supremely talented shortstop is exactly the kind of guy a team would want to build around for the long haul.
The Reds may just not get to do that.
De La Cruz may already be viewing his future in baseball as somewhere other than Cincinnati.
Scott Boras Issues Warning to Reds
Scott Boras recently spoke with Reds beat writer Gordon Wittenmyer about MLB’s potential for having a salary cap after new collective bargaining negotiations.
In that conversation, Boras issued a potentially amusing statement that won’t amuse any Reds fans.
Seemingly in speaking about his client De La Cruz, this is what Boras said>
“We don’t care what dinner time is. When you’re the steak, you sit there and wait for what? You wait for what the market brings. And you listen.”
There are two ways to read that.
On the one hand, Boras implies that De La Cruz won’t rush into a deal and will listen to the cases made to him from every team down the road. Maybe that leaves the door open to an eventual decision to stay in Cincinnati.
But on the other hand, Boras is saying De La Cruz won’t be signing an extension before his deal is up in Cincy. That would be the opposite of waiting for the market, and he evidently feels that De La Cruz deserves to get to free agency and bring out some big contract offers from around the league.
Elly De La Cruz Contract
The good news for the Reds is this: They have three more seasons of club control with De La Cruz after this.
He hasn’t reached his first arbitration offseason yet (that’ll be this winter), and players have three of those before they reach free agency.
Of course, if Elly truly doesn’t want an extension in Cincinnati, and the Reds are struggling in a year or two, he could become a trade candidate, which would be painful in its own way.
The main takeaway is probably this: The clock is ticking. The Reds can’t afford to waste another year or two with De La Cruz on their roster.
Elly De La Cruz Post-Reds Future Made Clear