Elly De La Cruz and the Cincinnati Reds are set for 2026 at $800,000 — a one-year unilateral renewal the club exercised under the MLB collective bargaining agreement. It’s a standard move for players who haven’t yet reached salary arbitration, but the context here is anything but ordinary: De La Cruz, repped by Scott Boras, had previously turned down a record-setting extension offer from Cincinnati.
The Contract at a Glance
- Team: Cincinnati Reds
- Signed: March 12, 2026
- Length: 1 year
- Total guaranteed value: $800,000
- 2026 salary: $800,000
- No-trade clause: No
How the Deal Works
The contract covers only the 2026 season for a fully guaranteed $800,000 — no options, no extensions, no opt-outs. Under CBA rules, teams can unilaterally renew pre-arbitration players without the player’s consent. That’s exactly what Cincinnati did here. The dollar figure reflects where De La Cruz sits on the pre-arb pay scale, regardless of how electric his talent is.
Every MLB contract is 100% guaranteed once signed — the Reds are on the hook for that $800,000 no matter what. The unilateral renewal simply means the club didn’t need De La Cruz’s approval to lock him in for the year.
Why He Turned Down the Extension
The fact that De La Cruz and Boras rejected what Cincinnati described internally as a franchise-record extension offer says everything about their long-game strategy. They clearly believe his value will climb significantly once he hits arbitration and eventually free agency. One pre-arb season at $800K is a small price to pay if a massive payday is waiting down the road.
Where He Ranks Among MLB’s Highest-Paid Players
Bluntly: he doesn’t. An $800,000 salary puts De La Cruz at the low end of the MLB pay scale — that’s the reality of the pre-arb system, no matter how good the player is. Once he qualifies for arbitration, his salary will jump in a hurry, and extension talks will carry a very different set of numbers.
His Contract History
- Cincinnati Reds, 2018: International amateur signing (terms not publicly disclosed)
- Cincinnati Reds, 2026: $800,000 — unilateral renewal
De La Cruz came to the Reds organization as an international signing in 2018. The financial terms of that deal were never made public. He’s been climbing through the system ever since, developing into the starting shortstop he is today. The 2026 renewal is a transition moment — still pre-arb money, but the conversations around a long-term deal are already happening.
