Scott Boras just handed the Cincinnati Reds a blunt reminder about how hard it can be to keep a star once he gets close to the open market, and that reality should push the club toward a Sal Stewart extension this offseason.
Boras made it clear to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer (subscription required) that Elly De La Cruz is not headed toward a long-term deal anytime soon and is expected to reach free agency after the 2029 season.
"He plays the premium position," Boras told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer (subscription required). "He also has age 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.”
That stance fits Boras’ usual playbook. He has long argued that taking a player all the way to free agency - where all 30 teams can make their best pitch - is the surest path to maximizing value.
De La Cruz will enter his first arbitration year this offseason, so his Reds tenure is already at its midpoint. Had Cincinnati pushed a major extension after his rookie season, Boras might have been more willing to step outside that approach and work out a long-term agreement.
There are exceptions in Boras’ client history, including Elvis Andrus, Stephen Strasburg, Xander Bogaerts, and Jose Altuve, who signed extensions rather than waiting for free agency.
For the Reds, though, Boras’ latest comments all but wipe away whatever hope remained of keeping De La Cruz on a long-term deal. That leaves the organization with a clear next move: secure another young core piece before the same pattern takes hold.
Stewart has already made a strong case for himself in his first full season in the big leagues. Going into Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, he leads the league with 107 RBI and is the odds-on favorite for the 2026 NL Rookie of the Year Award.
Cincinnati already showed a willingness to invest in its young talent earlier this year, giving Chase Burns a seven-year, $105 million extension. Stewart now looks like the next obvious candidate.
Other clubs have been moving the same way with their own rising players. The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Konnor Griffin to a long-term deal.
The Detroit Tigers gave Kevin McGonigle a multi-year extension. And JJ Wetherholt, Stewart’s closest competition in the NL Rookie of the Year race, recently agreed to an eight-year contract with the St.
Louis Cardinals.
signed before the December 1 deadline. Reds fans are hopeful that Stewart is among those who'll have a new deal in place before the CBA negotiations bring a halt to team-player interactions.
In Other News...
Reds Already Have A 2027 Problem Fans Can See Coming
The Reds farm system took a notable hit in MLB Pipelines latest update, sliding from No. 12 to No. 23 as top names like Sal Stewart and Edwin Arroyo moved up to the majors. It is the kind of drop that comes with success at the big league level, but it also changes the shape of the organizations future depth chart in a hurry. Cincinnati still has plenty of position-player talent in the pipeline, with an especially crowded group of shortstops, so the system is not empty by any means.
The bigger issue is on the mound, where the Reds do not have the same cushion if they need to build out a rotation for 2027. Aaron Watson has some promise, but the young pitching group is still more projection than certainty, which is where the concern starts to sharpen for a club trying to stay ahead of its own timeline. If those arms do not come together quickly enough, the Reds may have to turn to veteran pitching in free agency to plug the gap. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Have A Crucial Extension Window Before Things Get Complicated
With the next labor fight looming in the 2026-27 offseason, the Reds have a window right now to do some business before everything around Major League Baseball gets more complicated. A lockout would freeze the market and make roster planning harder, which is why Cincinnati is being urged to get ahead of the curve with multi-year extensions for players who already look important to the clubs present and future.
The list of possible candidates is a useful one because it mixes established names with younger pieces the Reds would like to keep around. Elly De La Cruz is the obvious centerpiece, but Sal Stewart also fits the long-range picture, and Tyler Stephenson remains a key part of the roster when healthy. On the pitching side, Brady Singer and Brock Burke bring value, while Eugenio Surez adds another veteran option if the Reds decide the timing is right to try to lock someone in before the calendar turns and the bargaining landscape shifts. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Fans Finally Have A Farm Club Run Worth Watching
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For Cincinnati, that kind of development matters because it keeps the focus on players performing when the games carry extra weight. The picture is less encouraging in Daytona, where the Tortugas were swept by Jupiter and never found much rhythm on either side of the ball, leaving Dayton as the clubs lone affiliate still alive and giving Reds fans a reason to keep one eye on the scoreboard. [Read more 🡒]