Scott Boras has never been the sort of agent who hurries a client into a long-term deal simply because a team wants the conversation to start. That reputation was on display again when he discussed Elly De La Cruz and the Cincinnati Reds, and the message was unmistakable.
The Reds have made no secret of their desire to keep the 24-year-old shortstop in Cincinnati for years to come. Boras, speaking with Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer, sounded far more interested in letting the market speak first.
De La Cruz has become one of baseball’s most dynamic everyday players, a switch-hitting shortstop with power, speed, and a growing profile that sells tickets and jerseys. Boras framed that combination as rare.
“And he plays the premium position,” Boras said. “He also has age (24) 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.’”
He continued: “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.”
Those lines do not close the door on an extension. They do make plain that Boras sees little reason to rush. De La Cruz is still under team control for several more seasons, but every additional strong year raises the eventual price.
The Reds have spent years looking for a homegrown star who can both win games and represent the franchise. De La Cruz has become that player. Waiting, however, carries its own risk.
The longer Cincinnati delays, the more other clubs will have a chance to bid if he reaches free agency, and the more leverage Boras will have.
That is the tension the organization now faces. De La Cruz’s value is not only statistical. He is young, plays a premium position, and has become a favorite among younger fans. Those qualities make him exactly the kind of player a mid-market club wants to lock up early.
They also make him the kind of client Boras has historically taken to the open market. An extension remains possible. Hometown sentiment and the chance to stay in one place can still matter.
Nothing in Boras’ comments, though, suggested urgency on his side of the table.
For the Reds the question is no longer whether De La Cruz is worth a major commitment. It is whether they can persuade the player and his agent to accept that commitment before the rest of the league gets a turn at the table.
Boras has already described how he intends to proceed: treat the player as the steak, ignore the dinner hour, and wait for the market to arrive.
Cincinnati will have to decide how long it is willing to wait with him.
