Time is Now For Cincinnati Reds Should Sign Elly De La Cruz to Long-Term Contract

A possible contract extension already looks expensive for De La Cruz and the Reds

Sep 9, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) shown warming up on the field prior to the game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

If the Cincinnati Reds are going to sign Elly De La Cruz to a long term extension, the time is now.

Pretty much every Reds fan knows how valuable De La Cruz is—even those that like to cite his shortcomings. They also understand how awesome it would be to sign him long term.

Some understand how difficult that will be, given who his agent is. Scott Boras does not value guarantees like other agents do.

So what, then? Should the Reds even bother? Should they just plan to enjoy the next couple of years and then plan to trade him with a year left of team control to reload prospects?

The Reds should absolutely sit down with Boras and De La Cruz this offseason and attempt to hammer out a long-term contract. This is pretty much the last time they may be able to get something done that they would consider at the top of their price range.

There are two players that some see as comparisons, from a contract perspective. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Jackson Chourio. The problem with trying to compare De La Cruz’s situation to theirs is that both players signed earlier than this. Acuna signed after his first season in the majors and Chourio signed before he was even called up. 

So value-wise, De La Cruz has already proven that his number should be higher than theirs.

Another reason why now is the time is because he still has two years left of pre-arbitration value. The Reds could up the number on those years significantly in an effort to make the contract work. Without some kind of long term deal, De La Cruz will make somewhere south of $1 million per year for the next two seasons. That’s a steal for the Reds as he will be worth way more than that with his performances.

As a tactic to getting the deal done, the Reds could offer multiple millions of dollars to him for the next couple of years in order to lower the number for the remainder of this hypothetical deal. 

De La Cruz is not due to be a free agent until after the 2029 season. That may seem to be a reason to wait, but he is pretty much on the cusp of being too expensive for the Reds to sign long term, as is. They could structure a contract of similar length to Hunter Greene’s contract. That would buy out two years of free agency but would still allow him to hit the free agent market before turning 30.

If the Reds are going to do that, though, they must do it this offseason.

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