Joey Votto Suggests Blockbuster Reds-Dodgers Trade Involving Elly De La Cruz

Many Cincinnati Reds fans have been lobbying for Reds legend Joey Votto to become the team's general manager or president of baseball operations, replacing Nick Krall. 

Krall, criticized for his long history of bad trades and poor free-agent signings, isn’t in the good graces of the fanbase. Amid this criticism, Votto has made it clear he's interested in a front-office role with significant influence over baseball decisions. 

On Monday afternoon, Votto gave a look into something he would consider doing as the general manager of the Reds by suggesting Cincinnati trade superstar shortstop Elly De La Cruz for Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop and top prospect Josue De Paula. 

Votto proposed the idea with the qualifier of “Who says no?”

Straight up, Elly De La Cruz for De Paula; I think the Reds say no. Not that it’s a bad offer by any means, but the best-case scenario for the Reds in that trade is that De Paula turns into Elly De La Cruz. 

Jeff Carr of Locked On Reds replied to the tweet, saying he'd be on board if the Dodgers added their #2 prospect, Eduardo Quintero. De Paula is the Dodgers' #1 prospect and the #4 prospect in all of baseball. Quintero is MLB.com’s #15 prospect. 

The conversation about De La Cruz possibly being traded will continue throughout the offseason. It’s a foregone conclusion that De La Cruz won’t finish his career in Cincinnati, as reports say he has bigger career ambitions beyond Cincinnati. 

De La Cruz will be an unrestricted free agent in 2030, and if there's a lockout in 2027, the Reds could have only two more years of Elly De La Cruz in a Reds uniform. It very well could be in Cincinnati’s best interest to trade De La Cruz, and getting Josue De Paula and another of the Dodgers' top prospects in return could be a sufficient return. 

De Paula tore the cover off the ball in 2026, hitting .303 with a .948 OPS and 27 home runs and 31 stolen bases. He doesn’t necessarily have the speed factor De La Cruz does and isn’t a switch-hitter, but he stands 6’3” and has shown great plate discipline in one playoff at-bat Sunday night, showing he belongs in Major League Baseball in the biggest moments. 

Reds fans may want to familiarize themselves with De Paula, as the Dodgers would be a leading candidate to trade for De La Cruz.