Reds could secretly benefit from Elly De La Cruz's struggles with bold offseason plan

Elly De La Cruz is one of the most exciting players in all of Major League Baseball, but the Cincinnati Reds budding young star is in midst of a horrendous slump. Since the All-Star break, De La Cruz's numbers have tanked, and the Reds' shortstop is hitting just .215/.250/.309 since August 1. Strange as it may sound, perhaps this coming winter will be the best time for the Reds and De La Cruz to work out a long-term deal.

Obviously it takes two to tango, and much like Matt McLain did this past offseason, De La Cruz may decide that signing a long-term contract coming off a down-year wouldn't be the smartest decision. Nevertheless, he needn't look much further than the aforementioned McLain to see that perhaps signing a contract extension this offseason could be to his benefit. McLain, who's struggled this season, may have cost himself millions of dollars.

To be clear, a down-year for De La Cruz — one in which he's been playing through a quad injury — has still been quite impressive. The Reds' infielder is hitting .266/.334/.440 with a 107 wRC+. De La Cruz, however, was worth 6.5 fWAR in 2024 and posted an .809 OPS and 119 wRC+. His defense has also taken a step back in 2025 after being regarded as one of the top defenders in the game during the 2024 season.

Could Elly De La Cruz's struggles could push the Reds toward contract talks this offseason?

There's little doubt that Cincinnati's front office would love to work out a long-term deal with De La Cruz. The fact that he's represented by Scott Boras, however, poses some major hurdles. While several Boras clients have agreed to extensions in the past, MLB's super agent prefers to take top-tier clients like De La Cruz past their arbitration window and into the free agent market.

What would it take for the Reds and De La Cruz to come to terms on a new deal? Based on recent contract extensions around the league, you'd have to think that Bobby Witt Jr.'s deal with the Kansas City Royals or Julio Rodriguez's extension with the Seattle Mariners are good places to start.

Those deals range from about $17-$26 million per year and are more than 10 years in length. Would Bob Castellini and the Reds' brass be willing to commit to a 10-year, $210 million deal? Would that even be enough? The Reds handed Joey Votto a 10-year, $225 million contract at age 27. Cincinnati would be locking up De La Cruz at just 23 years old.

There's no telling what a De La Cruz contract extension would look like, and the Reds' shortstop may have no intention of staying in the Queen City for the next decade. But Nick Krall and the Reds front office would be foolish to not at least inquire about the possibility of a long-term deal this offseason. The worst thing Elly could say is, no, thank you.

Pursuing a contract extension with a player coming off a down-year isn't exactly commonplace, but for the thrifty Reds' ownership, it may be the best opportunity they have to keep him in Cincinnati beyond the 2029 season.

More Cincinnati Reds News and Rumors