The idea of the Reds dealing Elly De La Cruz is the kind of offseason thought experiment that stops you in your tracks.
Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer recently floated a blockbuster that would send De La Cruz to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for three prospects, and the return is a heavy one: shortstop Grady Emerson, catcher Caden Bodine and right-hander Brody Hopkins.
For Cincinnati, Emerson would be the headliner. The 18-year-old was taken second overall by the Rays in the 2026 MLB Draft, and he already saw time in 13 games at Single-A Charleston this season. His line there was modest - .176/.283/.216 with one triple, three RBIs and two stolen bases - but he remains viewed as one of the best prospects in the sport.
Bodine brings a much more polished statistical resume. The 22-year-old catcher played 117 games across four levels in 2026 and hit .342/.410/.517 with 17 home runs, 99 RBIs and a .927 OPS.
He finished the year at Triple-A Durham, where he went 3-for-? No, the source says he hit .327 with three home runs and nine RBIs in 15 games.
That kind of production would give the Reds another intriguing catching option at a spot where questions remain, especially with Tyler Stephenson heading toward free agency.
Hopkins would be the third piece. The 24-year-old righty logged most of his 2026 season with Triple-A Durham, where he posted a 5.17 ERA over 94 innings, striking out 122 while walking 92.
He also made six appearances for Tampa Bay, putting up a 5.06 ERA with seven strikeouts and six walks in 5 1/3 innings. The punchouts stand out, but the command issues are impossible to ignore.
As a concept, it’s a fascinating package. As a real trade, it looks far less likely.
There’s no indication the Reds and Rays have actually discussed anything, and Tampa Bay’s track record makes this feel like a long shot. The Rays usually build by developing young talent and moving established players, not by paying a premium of multiple top prospects to bring one in. Parting with two top-50 prospects and another young arm for a player entering his arbitration years doesn’t really fit how the Rays have operated.
For Cincinnati, though, the price for even thinking about it would be steep. De La Cruz is coming off another monster season, hitting .283/.365/.515 with 30 home runs, 79 RBIs and 30 stolen bases.
He finished with an .880 OPS and 5.6 WAR, both career highs. He’s also under team control through 2029.
And the Reds know the danger of betting on prospects in a big-name deal. When they sent Luis Castillo to the Mariners in 2022, the return centered on Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo.
More than four years later, that trade still hasn’t delivered the way Cincinnati hoped. Marte has not become a consistent major league piece, and Arroyo has yet to turn into the impact player the Reds envisioned.
That’s the risk baked into any De La Cruz deal. He’s one of the most talented players in baseball, and there’s no guarantee even a haul of prospects would produce a single impact major leaguer. With Scott Boras as his agent, the expectation is that De La Cruz probably won’t sign a long-term extension before reaching free agency after the 2029 season, so the Reds may have to think about this at some point.
But if they ever do, the offer would need to be enormous. The package Rymer outlined is interesting, but it doesn’t feel like enough to push Cincinnati into actually moving De La Cruz. And based on how Tampa Bay usually does business, it’s hard to see the Rays making that kind of splash in the first place.
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