LAS VEGAS – Where there’s smoke, there’s, well, not much of anything else in the case of Elly De La Cruz and early-offseason trade speculation about the Cincinnati Reds’ star shortstop.
“We haven’t had any conversations regardinghim this offseason,” team president Nick Krall said.
In fact, executives from of a half-dozen teams from both leagues and of different market sizes during this week's MLB General Managers meetings said they have heard no rumblings from the Reds or anyone else that De La Cruz is available, with one saying he would be “shocked” if that were the case given De La Cruz’s talent and three remaining years of club control.
“I don’t know where it comes from,” Krall said of recent media speculation that seems rooted in failed extension
talks in recent years and the Reds’ last-place finish in a division that produced this year’s World Series champion.
Krall won’t rule anything out. “I’m never going to say never,” he said.
But the Reds’ objective this winter is to make enough improvements to a flawed roster to have a chance to return to the playoffs behind young frontline players such as De La Cruz, newly-crowned Rookie of the Year Sal Stewart and rising ace Chase Burns.
“You’re always looking to get to the postseason,” Krall said. “You’ve got three guys: Sal won Rookie of the Year (Nov. 9). Elly was a great player for us even though he missed a month of the season. Chase Burns took a lot of steps forward.
“Our starting pitching was a strength coming into last year, and then obviously we have our difficulties in a lot of different situations,” Krall said. “But we think we can get that group back to where they were. And I think that’s something that you’re always looking to figure out – how to get to the postseason and push forward.”
Starting pitching, bullpen pieces and significant lineup help – from both a hitting and fielding standpoint – are on a long list of needs.
But for now at least – as the industry braces for a labor lockout in three weeks – the Reds appear to have no intention of shopping their best player in the kind of move that theoretically could return a sizable group of near-ready big-league contributors but also signal at least a competitive bridge period.
At least not at this point in his career, despite the all-but-no chance of extending him before he hits free agency after the 2029 season.
This despite the big hole in the rotation left by All-Star Hunter Greene’s Tommy John surgery and back-end hole left by the durable Brady Singer’s departure as a free agent.
But Burns signed a seven-year, $105 million deal in July during a 15-win, 2.65-ERA season. Hall of Fame-bound manager Terry Francona has a guaranteed year and an option left on his contract. And even if De La Cruz has an arbitration raise in store that might make him a $10 million player, the Reds still consider 2027 part of a competitive window.
De La Cruz produced a 30-30 season with career highs in batting (.283), home runs (30), slugging (.515), on-base percentage (.365) and bWAR (5.5) despite missing a month because of a hamstring injury. He appears likely to earn his highest MVP finish in voting that will be announced late this week (he was eighth in 2024).
“We’ve got three years of control left on him, and he’s a really good player on our club,” Krall said. “As of right now, if there’s something out there and somebody wants to come to us and talk about it … But he’s a great player, and I love having him on our team.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why MLB executives would be 'shocked' if Reds trade Elly De La Cruz
