Joey Votto gives life to Mariners' Elly De La Cruz fantasy with spot-on trade take

Given the Randy Arozarena-shaped hole in the starting lineup, the Seattle Mariners need to add at least one impact hitter this winter. They can conceivably do so via free agency, but the smarter money is on the trade market.

Take it from Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, who notes that the Mariners should not be expected to pluck a big bat from the open market. And thus, that "the trade route is again the likely avenue to find an offensive upgrade."

To this end, we've covered how the Mariners' advantages include both major league starting pitching and prospect talent as trade capital, as well as the ability to add between $30 and $40 million to their 2027 payroll. And no, we haven't been shy about how badly we want the team to leverage these things in an all-out pursuit of Cincinnati Reds superstar Elly De La Cruz.

Now, an ally has emerged. Another guy campaigning for an EDLC trade is none other than Reds legend Joey Votto, who laid out a case for the team to cash in the 24-year-old shortstop before he reaches free agency following the 2029 season.

"I would trade Elly for as many prospects as possible to start," the 2010 NL MVP said on the Foul Territory podcast last week. "Elly's going to get $650 million. Even if he doesn't get that number, he's 50 to 60 per year times seven, just to start. You know, let's say the CBA changes things; he's making $350 million over the course of seven years, minimum, six years minimum. Are you going to give up half or a third of your payroll on one player? It doesn't make sense."

Mariners will have an edge if Reds accept Joey Votto's Elly De La Cruz trade advice

All that checks out, including Votto's math on the Reds' payroll. Even in a good season, it's typically in the $120 million range. If the league gets its desired payroll floor of $171.2 million, a market-rate contract for De La Cruz would still eat up between 30 and 35 percent of Cincinnati's total payroll.

Indeed, the time for the Reds to lock up De La Cruz on a below-market deal has passed. They offered him a club-record deal in the spring of 2025 and got Scott Boras'd. Rejected, in other words.

The parallels to Juan Soto and the Washington Nationals in the early 2020s are unavoidable, and that's where the Reds can see the exact opposite of a cautionary tale. For two-and-a-half years of Soto, the Nationals got James Wood, CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore. And they weren't even the big gets at the time, as Robert Hassell III was also in the deal as MLB Pipeline's No. 21 prospect.

Should the Reds take Votto's advice and seek a similar haul, not many teams will be able to afford the prospect capital alone. The money is still another challenge. De La Cruz is projected to make $7.9 million in arbitration next year, with two more raises due in 2028 and 2029. His total cost for his last three years of club control could approach $50 million.

None of this should scare the Mariners, however. They'd have to stop prospect hugging to make a play for EDLC, but any offer led by Kade Anderson or Ryan Sloan with a sprinkle of Lazaro Montes or Michael Arroyo would surely get Cincinnati's attention. They also spend more than the Reds can, in part because they have been smart with their big contracts. Of the four on their books, only Josh Naylor's $92.5 million contract represents an albatross deal.

As for whether De La Cruz is worth the trouble, well, what's not to like about a switch-hitting shortstop who just had a 30-30 season while rating as a good defender? And this one is getting better, as seen in his improving plate discipline and production from the right side of the plate.

To these ends, the Mariners' side of this fantasy has always made sense. It's the Reds side that has been more of an unknown, but at least now they have a prominent voice in their ear telling them to do it.

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