Scott Boras Makes Cincinnati Reds Star's Future Clear

The Cincinnati Reds' hopes at keeping one of their homegrown stars in Elly De La Cruz may have just taken another hit after his agent, Scott Boras, indicated in a statement that the 24-year-old shortstop will likely be testing the market in free agency once his contract runs out in 2029.

In a conversation with Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Boras said the following:

"And he plays the premium position. He also has age [24] that no one else has. So once you establish those parameters, you now say what? 'Oh, excuse me, this isn’t about time when you’re the steak. We don’t care what dinner time is.'"

"Because the fact is, when you're the steak, you sit there and wait for what? You wait for what the market brings. And you listen."

Losing De La Cruz to another club would certainly blow given his ability to not only hit for power but also effectively defend the basepaths. This season, he has led Cincinnati's lineup with a .283 batting average and .361 on-base percentage. De La Cruz has also recorded an .872 OPS while knocking in 71 RBI and launching a career-best 26 home runs.

Furthermore, his cannon of an arm shined during the Reds' Tuesday matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers when he nabbed Teoscar Hernández at home plate with a gutsy 102-mph throw to prevent an inside-the-park home run. 

Although the Reds ended up losing that series, De La Cruz homered in all three games with two of his big hits coming against Dodgers aces Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

De La Cruz has also shown tremendous grit even against much stiffer competition in the NL Central rival Milwaukee Brewers who have consistently held the best record in MLB.

On Saturday, he went 2-for-5 at the plate and plated a run but the Reds as a whole have obviously been overmatched throughout the weekend. They suffered a 13-9 loss that day and were shut out by 20 runs on Friday.

The Reds would make the MLB playoffs last year during De La Cruz's third season after he made his major-league debut a couple years prior. Nonetheless, they came up short in the NL Wild Card round to the buzzsaw Dodgers and haven't recovered as their 69-79 overall record this season shows.

De La Cruz refused a franchise-record offer from Cincinnati during Spring Training 2025 that would've surpassed Joey Votto's 10-year, $225 million deal per The Athletic. Still, it is no surprise that he would want to see what he can fetch from other clubs before committing to the Reds long-term. 

Boras has also had a lengthy history of getting his clients to test the waters in free agency. 

The New York Mets' Juan Soto comes to mind following his decision to turn down the crosstown rival Yankees' 16-year, $760 million offer to keep him in the Bronx after the 2024 season. Eventually, the 27-year-old slugger struck an agreement with the Mets on a deal worth $765 million but for one less year.

For now, the Reds will have to make the most of the few seasons of control they have left over De La Cruz, especially as a potential lockout could shake up the MLB landscape in a significant way.