The Red Sox are back in the Elly De La Cruz business.
With Boston out of the postseason, attention has already shifted to the offseason, and Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer has De La Cruz pegged as a name the Red Sox could circle again after the deadline chatter that never produced a deal.
That conversation with Cincinnati was real. Boston and the Reds talked about De La Cruz, but they never got close enough to complete anything.
The Red Sox reportedly put together a package built mostly around prospects, while Cincinnati wanted young major leaguers instead. Boston, for its part, wasn’t willing to part with the kind of MLB roster piece the Reds were seeking.
Rymer’s read on the situation is pretty clear: if the Red Sox try again this winter, they would likely have to include either Franklin Arias or Payton Tolle to get Cincinnati’s attention. In other words, Boston would have to move off the stance it held at the deadline.
That’s a big ask, especially because the Red Sox have already thinned out their trade inventory. They sent a major haul in the Adley Rutschman deal, a package that included Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon, which leaves them with less to work with now than they had before.
Craig Breslow has shown he’s willing to keep the roster moving. The Red Sox chief baseball officer has been aggressive in 2026, making a mix of strong and questionable moves while retooling the club.
He’s not shy about dealing top pitching talent - Connelly Early is the latest example - or MLB-ready position players like Marcelo Mayer. But Arias and Tolle sit in a different category.
Tolle has become a major part of Boston’s rotation plans, and Arias is the best prospect in the system. Moving either one for De La Cruz would leave the Red Sox with fewer assets and, in Tolle’s case, potentially a weaker big-league team moving forward.
That’s why this still feels like a tough fit. The Reds are unlikely to budge unless Boston puts one of its best young pieces on the table, and that’s a steep price for the Red Sox to swallow.
Still, there’s a case for pushing harder. De La Cruz is 24, and he’s under team control through 2029.
If Boston doesn’t believe Arias will be the better player over the next three to five years, then this is exactly the kind of swing they should at least be willing to consider. The Red Sox need a shortstop who can help now, and Trevor Story’s age and injury risk only sharpen that need.
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