Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has built a robust pitching staff during his tenure, but he's fallen short in ensuring a productive-enough lineup. One guy who would help massively with that problem is Cincinnati Reds megastar Elly De La Cruz.
If the Reds decide to make De La Cruz available this offseason (Joey Votto thinks they absolutely should), the Red Sox would be wise to get involved in the sweepstakes, especially if their rival New York Yankees are also potentially eyeing the 24-year-old shortstop.
Would Boston have to include its No. 1 prospect, Franklin Arias, in any deal for De La Cruz? To win the sweepstakes, surely. But since Arias may be less untouchable than initially supposed, it's worth wondering what an Arias-centric package for De La Cruz would look like, as well as what Boston's infield would look like if and once they landed De La Cruz.
The Red Sox discussed SS Elly De La Cruz with the Reds but could not line up on a deal, according to @Sean_McAdam.
— Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) August 1, 2026
The Sox offered mostly prospects, but the Reds were more interested in young major leaguers. The Red Sox weren’t willing to subtract from their MLB roster. pic.twitter.com/2EAcSwfIk4
Brainstorming how an Red Sox-Elly De La Cruz-Franklin Arias trade would shake out
'Why don't the Red Sox just trade Trevor Story and slot Arias in at short, rather than go after De La Cruz?' one might argue. Well, De La Cruz is a special enough talent to give up Arias for, for one thing, but the other problem is that Story might be tough to trade, since he now has 10-5 rights.
Story's likely in Boston to stay. His contract runs through the 2028 season. If the Red Sox acquired De La Cruz, the obvious move would be to play Story at second base, but what then of Curtis Mead? Suddenly, the Red Sox would have a logjam in their infield, just as they've long had one in the outfield.
For De La Cruz, Boston could extend Cincinnati an offer of Arias, outfield prospect Justin Gonzales, and a controllable major-league piece to get discussions started. Would the Reds be at all interested in Jarren Duran? (Gulp ... awkward silence).
Boston's pitch would have to center around Arias' value. Meanwhile, the Reds would point to De La Cruz's 30-30 season in 2026 and his youth as evidence that his value is literally limitless. Nonetheless, if the Red Sox could pull off a deal for De La Cruz (surely by being cornered into giving up more than above), they'd immediately right the ship of their future, which has somewhat veered off course recently through the failures of Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell, not to mention the health questions surrounding Roman Anthony.
De La Cruz is the type of talent that you don't worry about logjams when pursuing. You go get him, and figure out the positional gymnastics later. He'd be Boston's shortstop moving forward, and everyone else would have to adjust.
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