There was massive hype in the league’s financial landscape when Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers for a record $700 million and Juan Soto for a historic $765 million contract. Recently, ESPN’s Jeff Passan held a survey for MLB executives and agents. The agenda was to find out who would make the next multimillion-dollar signing with an MLB team. A name that kept coming up was Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz.

The only one who received more votes than Cruz was Gunnar Henderson. Even so, the young infielder has successfully navigated his way to big-league contract talks. In fact, his current team, the Cincinnati Reds, has also attempted to lock him in with a contract extension in the past. However, that never materialized.

Recently, the Reds’ president, Nick Krall, opened up about De La Cruz’s contract buzz and gave a crucial update. Speaking with MLB Network Radio, Krall said, “He’s obviously one of the best players in the league.” Certainly. The 23-year-old has a .273 batting average, 16 home runs, 50 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases to his name this season.

Krall further added, “We’ve made a run at it and obviously didn’t get anything done. We’ve had those conversations, and that’s not something that we’ve been able to match up on.” With the market becoming aggressive for young stars, it’s a bit of a worrying update for the Reds’ nation.

“Hopefully, there’s something there, but as of right now, there’s no talks that are currently happening.” If the Reds don’t act soon, then it’s worth noting that for players like De La Cruz, the market is only going to get more expensive. It wouldn’t be that surprising if he landed a multimillion-dollar deal like Ohtani or Soto.

According to analysts, it’s just a matter of time before Elly etches his name among the league’s biggest contracts. On another note, Elly has been one of the league’s best shortstops over time. While the league and the Reds are already obsessed with him, his teammates are also in awe.

Elly De La Cruz’s teammates in awe of his performance

How could they not be? Every time this Reds’ shortstop enters the field or the dugout, his only focus is on baseball. He keeps his emotions in check. Naturally, the entire Reds crew took notice. “We were all already in awe of Elly,” said one of Cruz’s teammates, Brent Suter.

In fact, regarding his composure, his coach was almost speechless about how he handles it all. “He’s got some physical toughness, some mental toughness that lots of people don’t possess.” Actually, he has recently gone through a tough phase. In fact, he still seems to be going through it. His elder sister, Genelis De La Cruz Sánchez, passed away on May 31 after suffering from long-standing health issues.

When De La Cruz received the news, he stayed to himself and didn’t speak with anybody for a while. He was processing it. His teammates and the entire organization stood by him. In fact, right after his sister’s passing, he did something that had the league stunned. After learning about the death, he still played. Well, not just played; he hit a home run that day.

As he hit that soaring home run, he looked towards the open sky and touched his heart. He was reminiscing about his sister. It was his way of honoring her. Since that game and until now, he has been performing exceptionally. During his last outing against the Detroit Tigers, he went 3-for-5, helping the Reds secure an 8-4 win. It was also his fourth consecutive game with a home run.

Not so long ago, he made a strong admission. When things don’t go his way, he reminds himself of one thing. It’s always to “keep fighting,” no matter what.