Elly De La Cruz just left Brewers' rival Reds concerned with latest social media hint

During the offseason, C. Trent Rosecrans, The Athletic's Cincinnati Reds beat writer, reported that the Reds were willing to offer Elly De La Cruz, their All-Star shortstop, the largest contract in franchise history. That means that Cincinnati's offer to the 24-year-old De La Cruz surpassed the 10-year, $255 million contract that franchise legend Joey Votto signed back in 2012.

However, De La Cruz, who is represented by the famous Scott Boras, declined the offer, knowing that, so long as he continues to play at the level he has to begin his career, the money he will be offered when he hits free agency after the 2029 season could far exceed the Reds' offer.

The risk that De La Cruz, and Boras for that matter, assume is that if the young shortstop's production starts to tail off prior to his free agent years, it's possible he never receives an offer comparable to the one Cincinnati made him this past winter. Therefore, their strategy of waiting until the dollar amount increases relies on De La Cruz being the All-Star caliber player he's proven to be, for the next four seasons. Such a scenario would decrease the likelihood that he ends up in Cincinnati long-term because the Reds will have to outbid the rest of De La Cruz's offers on the free agent market.

To kick off the 2026 season, De La Cruz is playing some of the best baseball of his career, making a long-term extension in Cincinnati even less likely. The switch-hitting shortstop is slashing .288/.354/.521 with 10 homers and nine stolen bases through the first six weeks of the season.

However, it's not De La Cruz's performance that has Reds fans worried about the chances of a long-term deal. Rather, it's a recent meeting that the star shortstop had with Boras himself that has the Cincinnati faithful bracing themselves for the reality of not seeing De La Cruz in a Reds uniform long-term.

Elly De La Cruz's 2026 performance is a far better indicator the Reds' chances of signing him to an extension than his meeting with Scott Boras

On Monday night, an off night for De La Cruz and the Reds, Cincinnati's shortstop posted a series of pictures on social media revealing that he was out to dinner with his agent, Boras. Such an occurrence is by no means a rarity; agents and their clients spend plenty of time together throughout a season and are in constant communication. However, given the situation, with De La Cruz's extension talks on the minds of Reds' fans, the dinner seemed to hold much more weight.

De La Cruz meeting with Boras, who is likely advising him against a long-term extension with the Reds unless Cincinnati is willing to meet what should be a very high price, certainly doesn't ease Reds fans' concerns. However, Cruz's MVP-caliber start to the season should indicate that he's already priced himself out of the Reds' budget, or, at the very least, made a trip to the free agent market far more appealing.

Cruz, who currently holds the third-best odds in the NL MVP race behind Shohei Ohtani and Matt Olson, plays a premium position and does so while possessing a unique blend of power and speed, which is coveted in today's game. That type of profile, while being just 24 years old, is one of the most valuable in the sport. Sure, there are holes in his game, but it's going to take a massive offer from the Reds for De La Cruz (and Boras) to agree to a contract extension.

For the Milwaukee Brewers, such a situation is a welcomed development as the NL Central becomes more competitive. Yes, they have to deal with De La Cruz's All-Star production for the next three and a half seasons, but long term, the Reds are likely to either hamstring themselves elsewhere with a massive deal for their star shortstop or lose him in free agency. Such a reality is far better than the Reds locking De La Cruz into a team-friendly, long-term extension like the one the Brewers smartly agreed to with Jackson Chourio before it was too late.

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