Elly de la Cruz has already put himself in rare company, and that’s exactly why the trade chatter around him feels so loud. Since breaking in with the Reds in June 2023, he has piled up 169 stolen bases, ranks fifth in triples with 29, and sits 13th in runs with 373. That’s the kind of production that makes him look like the prototype for a five-tool star.
And yet, there’s a real reason his name keeps surfacing in trade discussions.
Cincinnati sits 27th in payroll at roughly $91 million, and de la Cruz is represented by Scott Boras, an agent known for not pushing his young stars into early extensions. That creates an obvious clock.
At some point, the Reds have to decide whether they’re willing to pay up to keep him or move him before the bill gets too steep. For a market like Cincinnati, that decision may not be optional.
The closest modern comparison is Juan Soto. When Washington couldn’t lock Soto into a long-term deal, it sent him to San Diego in 2022.
The Padres paid a massive price, headlined by CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, James Wood, and Jarlin Susana. Soto had two and a half seasons of control left at the time, and the return reflected just how rare it is to move a young superstar in his prime years.
De la Cruz’s profile makes the comparison even more intriguing. He has already produced 19.7 fWAR since his debut, while Soto had 20.9 fWAR before that trade.
Soto was only 19 when he debuted; de la Cruz was 21. The Reds shortstop also comes with three more years of control, which only raises the asking price.
If the Blue Jays were the team trying to get it done, the cost would be enormous. A hypothetical package would likely have to include Trey Yesavage, Addison Barger, JoJo Parker, Nolan Perry, and one of Will Brick or Johnny King.
Yesavage would have to be in the deal because he checks the box the Reds would want most: young, controlled starting pitching. His 2025 postseason run and first major league season in 2026 showed why.
In an injury-shortened year, the 23-year-old threw 97.2 innings, posted a 3.69 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, and struck out 97. He would fit into a Cincinnati rotation already featuring Hunter Greene and Chase Burns.
Barger would also be part of the conversation as another cost-controlled piece. There are health questions, but the upside is real. He has elite bat speed, hits the ball hard, and brings a cannon for an arm.
Parker would be the kind of upside prospect teams hate to move, but a player like de la Cruz doesn’t come along often. Parker has hit and growing power, though there are questions about whether he can stay at shortstop. If he has to move off the position, some of that value takes a hit.
Perry was MLB Pipeline’s breakout prospect in the Blue Jays system after making major progress coming back from Tommy John surgery. He pitched at three levels in 2026, reached Double-A, and got into the Futures Game. He doesn’t carry the same ceiling as Yesavage, but he would still deepen a Reds system that would suddenly look much stronger on the mound.
Between Brick and King, Cincinnati might prefer King because of the upper-level pitching. King reached Double-A in 2026 and wasn’t overwhelmed.
If the command comes, he could settle in as a midrotation starter. If not, there’s still a path to impact relief work, with Josh Hader cited as the kind of outcome.
Brick, meanwhile, is the catcher's prospect in the group. He hasn’t debuted yet, but there’s plenty to like about the fourth-round pick from this past summer’s draft. His 65-grade arm and 60-grade defense behind the plate give him a strong foundation, and if the bat comes around, the ceiling gets interesting fast.
The Blue Jays, though, don’t have the kind of prospect firepower that would make this easy. To make a deal work, they’d likely need to keep adding quality, and that would strip down an already middle-of-the-road farm system. At some point, the price rises to the point where the trade stops making sense for Toronto.
That’s the real question here: would five players be enough, or would Cincinnati still want more? And if the package keeps growing, does the return eventually outweigh what de la Cruz can do by himself? It would be a dangerous swing, but it’s probably the kind of haul the Reds would demand.
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