Reds Urged to Hit Pause on Trading Elly De La Cruz

Cincinnati Reds Receive New Elly De La Cruz Trade Update

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November 6, 2026

The Cincinnati Reds are being urged to hit pause on trading Elly De La Cruz.

This offseason has been filled with trade rumors surrounding the 24-year-old shortstop.

Former Reds players, national media outlets, and even leaks about interested teams have fueled the speculation.

Some fans have even supported a trade, citing the Reds' small-market constraints and the likelihood De La Cruz will leave in free agency.

But a growing chorus of analysts and former executives is arguing for patience.

The core argument is simple: the Reds control De La Cruz through the 2030 season.

That gives Cincinnati a three-year window before he can test free agency.

In that time, the Reds can see where they stand competitively.

They can get the most out of him while he is in their uniform.

And they can wait for a trade package that truly resets the organization.

De La Cruz just delivered a career-best season in 2026.

He batted .283 with 30 home runs, 30 doubles, and 30 stolen bases.

His on-base plus slugging percentage was .880.

He posted roughly 6.4 WAR, making him one of the most dynamic young position players in baseball.

Yet the team around him fell well short of expectations and finished outside the postseason race.

Chris Landers of FanSided sees a realistic scenario in which Cincinnati at least listens to offers on its franchise player this winter.

The Reds' lineup still has clear holes.

Ownership has shown little willingness to open the checkbook.

Earlier extension discussions appear to have stalled after De La Cruz turned down a deal that would have surpassed Joey Votto's previous club-record contract.

In that environment, trading the shortstop for a transformative package of young talent is not an outlandish idea on paper.

But Landers notes that the Reds hold the leverage.

De La Cruz remains under team control for three more seasons before free agency.

Without an extraordinary return, Cincinnati can simply keep him and reassess later.

That three-year runway is the central reason any deal remains unlikely.

De La Cruz is entering his first arbitration year.

He will not reach the open market until after the 2029 season.

Small-market clubs rarely surrender that kind of cost-controlled production unless the incoming talent is overwhelming.

Reports have already linked him to clubs such as the Dodgers and Red Sox.

Former executives have suggested the Reds would at least field calls.

Still, the asking price would have to resemble the historic packages that have moved other pre-free-agency stars.

It would not be a conventional collection of mid-tier prospects.

Sports Illustrated's analysis reinforces this view.

The outlet argues that the Reds should wait to trade De La Cruz.

It points to team control as the primary reason.

The Reds currently control De La Cruz until 2030.

Although the future of Major League Baseball is uncertain, Elly should still be with the Reds whenever the 2027 season begins.

If the Reds do decide to move on from Elly, why not wait until at least 2029?

By then, they would know where they stand competitively.

They would have gotten the most out of him while he is in their uniform.

Simply put, if the Reds want any chance of being a winning team in 2027, they will need Elly on their roster.

While many think this is unlikely, and understandably so, the team should be willing to roll the dice with him on the roster.

You will be hard-pressed to fill that roster spot, even with the abundance of shortstops in the organization.

The other issue is depth.

Even with the middle infielders the Reds have drafted over the years, the few who have had chances to play at the big league level have left a lot to be desired.

Edwin Arroyo was called up this year when Elly went on the IL.

He had a .549 OPS in 160 plate appearances.

Matt McLain is naturally a shortstop but has made a solid double-play duo with Elly as the Reds' everyday second baseman.

Since his shoulder injury in 2024, he has struggled at the plate over the last two seasons.

Noelvi Marte has been moved to right field.

While he has shown glimpses of his talent, he has not shown much reason for hope for his major league future.

The Reds' farm system has talented shortstops, but none of them are particularly close to being Major League ready.

The Reds selected Steele Hall and Justin LeBron with their first-round picks in the last two MLB Drafts.

Both guys have given reasons for hope, but are currently in Single-A ball.

Tyson Lewis, Eric Becker, and Liberts Aponte also identify as shortstops, but none of them are close to the majors.

FanGraphs recently highlighted De La Cruz and Gunnar Henderson as the two most interesting trade chips this offseason.

The free agent market for shortstops is thin.

Mauricio Dubón and J.P. Crawford are the best the position has to offer.

Useful players, but not building-block players.

Any team with a shortstop-sized hole on its roster would be wiser to peruse the trade market.

Henderson, the Orioles' shortstop, has had an alarming decline in production since putting up 7.9 WAR and a 154 wRC+ as a 23-year-old in 2024.

In the two seasons since his peak, his home run totals have sagged from 37 to 17 and 24.

His collective slugging percentage is over 100 points lower, going from .529 in 2024 to a lethargic .420 across 2025 and 2026.

Henderson revealed after this season that shoulder and wrist injuries have been affecting him.

Diving for a ball in 2025 caused a shoulder impingement that Henderson said negatively influenced his bat plane.

He spent half of 2026 playing with a barking wrist.

A fully healed Henderson could certainly bounce back in 2027.

But as he tried to grit his way through the last two campaigns, his performance has not been commensurate with that of a superstar player.

De La Cruz, by contrast, just had his best season.

His combination of power, speed and athleticism has made him one of the most dynamic young position players in baseball.

Yardbarker's analysis notes that the Reds' most probable outcome is that De La Cruz opens 2027 in a Reds uniform.

Cincinnati's front office can continue shopping for complementary pieces while waiting to see whether a true blockbuster emerges.

If no such offer appears, the club retains one of the sport's most exciting players at a fraction of the price he would command on the open market.

Only a return that fundamentally resets the organization is likely to change that calculation.