Royals Give Reds Blueprint For Long-Term Extension With Elly De La Cruz
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The Cincinnati Reds should imitate the Kansas City Royals.
OK, that’s not a sentence you typically hear, but the Royals just did something the Reds should copy.
The Royals signed their stud young shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to a 11-year, $288 million contract. This will ensure the Royals don’t have to consider another contract for Witt until he is 34 years old. While the contract guarantees an average of $26 million per year to Witt over the course of the deal, he could easily be worth more than that in a few years. His performance and the rising market could make this a steal very soon.
If things go according to plan this season, the Reds should take a page out of the Royals playbook.
The Reds have a number of players that they could try to sign ahead of time, in hopes of keeping them in Cincinnati for the majority of their career.
Elly De La Cruz is the first player that comes to mind. Is he worth $26 million a year right now? Most would question that. If he has a breakout 2024 campaign, then there's no reason why he wouldn't be worth that type of money.
The first reason is that De La Cruz’s agent is Scott Boras. He's not known for agreeing to team-friendly deals. He's known for extracting every bit of money he can for his clients. He will likely tell De La Cruz to wait for a big deal.
With that said, if the 22-year-old takes a step forward this season, an 11-year, nearly $300 million contract would be tempting, even for a super agent like Boras.
De La Cruz has always shown an upward trajectory. Every level he reached, the moment he figured out the adjustments he needed, he took off.
He's always adjusted and played well until the Reds promoted him to the next level. In Witt’s first year, he was pretty good. In 2023, he took off and the Royals rewarded him while assuring he remains in Kansas City.
The Reds should do this with De La Cruz if he plays well and takes a step forward this season.
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