Elly De La Cruz's gesture to young fan further proof Reds need to sign him long-term

When you think about some of the most impactful athletes in sports, their reach stretches beyond the sport they play and even intersects with other fanbases. Tiger Woods turned the PGA Tour into must-see TV. How many sports fans are now watching women's basketball because of Caitlin Clark? How about the global impact that Shohei Ohtani has had on the game of baseball?

Elly De La Cruz has that type of draw. The Cincinnati Reds superstar burst onto the scene in 2023. Few players possess the combination of speed and power that De La Cruz has. Couple that with his flare, perpetual smile, and love of the game, and you can see why baseball fans are drawn to the Reds shortstop.

On Thursday afternoon, during an absolute beatdown at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, De La Cruz observed a young fan in the crowd at Great American Ball Park on his way back to the dugout between innings.

Elly De La Cruz turned a would-be Braves fan into a Reds fan

A young boy, wearing De La Cruz's No. 44 City Connect jersey, brought a poster board to the game that read, "Drove from Alabama to hold my four-four up with Elly for my 8th birthday." The four-four is of course a reference to De La Cruz's jersey number and the celebratory gesture that the Cincinnati infielder makes after recording a base hit.

De La Cruz promptly threw a ball into the stands toward the young fan, and he returned to his seat with a souvenir he'll never forget. But it was the camera shot of his return to his section that was somewhat intriguing. When the fan returned to his seat and showed the ball to his family, everyone in his party was wearing Braves gear.

Most parents typically encourage their young son or daughter to root for the same team that they grew up cheering for, right? If you're a Reds fan with young kids, don't you want your children to have the same love and passion for Cincinnati's baseball team that you do? Of course you do.

But sometimes, there are special players who are so engaging that they draw an audience outside of their typical fanbase. De La Cruz has the power to do just that. Case in point would be MLB jersey sales. At this year's All-Star break, Ohtani led the way, but De La Cruz was among the top-15 in jersey sales.

An Elly De La Cruz contract extension should on the Reds' list of offseason priorities

There were some Reds fans clamoring for the Cincinnati ownership to sign De La Cruz to a mega-deal last offseason. But the Reds were probably correct in waiting to see what the shortstop produced during his first full season.

The results have been everything the Reds fanbase, front office, and ownership could have hoped for. Though De La Cruz is likely to lead Major League Baseball in strikeouts and errors, he's also one of the most electric players in the game. His speed on the base paths makes fans tune in to every at-bat, and some of the defensive plays he's able to make are out of this world. De La Cruz is a superstar talent.

The 22-year-old went to the All-Star Game for the first time this season, but is still pre-arbitration eligible — and making the league-minimum — for the next two seasons. De La Cruz in under team control through 2029. The Reds would be wise to back up the Brinks truck this offseason and drop a deal similar to that which Bobby Witt Jr. signed with the Kansas City Royals.

Some fans will cite the fact that Scott Boras is De La Cruz's representative, and that the baseball super-agent always lets his clients reach free agency. While that's true probably 90% of the time, there have been exceptions. Players like Jose Altuve, Xander Bogaerts, and Elvis Andrus have agreed to extensions with their respective teams rather than test the open market.

De La Cruz's potential extension would looks very similar to that of Witt or Seattle Mariners' star outfielder Julio Rodriguez; so you're looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of $250-$300 million over 10-plus seasons. That's quite the investment, but the Reds need to lock up one of the premiere players in the game before he prices himself out of Cincinnati.

More Cincinnati Reds News and Rumors