FanGraphs predicts Elly De La Cruz contract extension Reds' fans can only dream of

It's contract extension season, Reds fans. It was about this time last year when Hunter Greene signed his six-year, $53 million contract extension with the Cincinnati Reds. Greene's deal will take him through the 2028 season and includes a $21 million club-option for 2029 with a $2 million buyout.

But Greene is just one of several young players that the Reds would undoubtedly love to keep in Cincinnati over the long haul. The most prominent name, of course, being Elly De La Cruz. The Reds shortstop has shown tremendous progress from last season to this year, and it would appear as though the sky is the limit for the 22-year-old phenom.

While there hasn't been much chatter regarding a potential contract extension between the Reds and De La Cruz, you can bet that behind closed doors the Cincinnati brass has at least discussed the possibility of a multi-year offer for their budding star.

FanGraphs predicts Elly De La Cruz contract extension Reds' fans can only dream of

FanGraphs recently released seven contract extension predictions, of which De La Cruz was one. If the Reds were able to coax De La Cruz to sign FanGraph's projected extension, Reds fans would be doing backflips.

FanGraphs assumes that the Reds and De La Cruz could come to terms on a nine-year, $192 million contract extension. That's an average annual value (AAV) of just over $21 million and a slightly less AAV than the 10-year, $225 million contract extension Joey Votto signed in 2012.

This type of contract would buy out all of De La Cruz's arbtration years and keep him in the Queen City through his age 31 season. Based on De La Cruz's current production, even though he is still rather rough around the edges, this proposed deal feels a little light. Bobby Witt Jr. just signed an 11-year, $288 million contract, and the Kansas City Royals shortstop is probably the closest comp to De La Cruz at the moment.

If De La Cruz and his representation were willing to sign something similar to this projected contract from FanGraphs, Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall should crawl across concourse at Great American Ball Park in order to get him to sign it.

De La Cruz's potential contract extension will be something to keep an eye on. If not now, sometime in the future.

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