Elly De La Cruz Rejected Historic Reds Contract Extension Offer in 2025, Nick Krall Says

The Cincinnati Reds offered star shortstop Elly De La Cruz a historic contract extension that he turned down in 2025, Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall revealed Friday.

"We made Elly an offer that would've made him the highest-paid Red ever," Krall said, per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. "That's not where he is and you respect that. It's their career. You keep going and you keep working on what you can do today."

The current Reds contract record is held by Joey Votto, who signed a 10-year deal worth $225 million with the club in 2012.

De La Cruz is currently on a pre-arbitration contract and will be eligible for arbitration in 2027. He's also under team control through the 2029 season.

Both sides still have plenty of time to work out an extension, even though De La Cruz turned down Cincinnati's hefty offer.

The 24-year-old has thrived to begin his Reds career, earning All-Star nods in each of the past two years.

De La Cruz is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he hit .264 with 22 home runs, 31 doubles, seven triples, 37 stolen bases and 86 RBI. He also posted a .777 OPS.