The Reds won’t be able to sign every one of their young stars over the long haul.

Cincinnati Reds players Alexis Diaz, Elly De La Cruz / Meg Oliphant/GettyImagesReds supporters, it’s that time of year again. A number of teams contact some of its star players in the spring in an attempt to sign them to a long-term contract. The most recent example is the six-year, $66 million contract that Eugenio Suárez signed with the Cincinnati Reds a few years ago.Hunter Greene’s long-term contract took a little longer to finalize last spring, but in April of last year, the team signed his starting pitcher to a six-year, $53 million extension. Greene will stay in the Queen City until 2028 at the latest. Although the Reds second baseman Jonathan India recently signed a two-year contract, he will still be eligible for arbitration in 2026.There are plenty of young players on the Reds, so this isn’t the only contract extension you’ll see in the near future for Greene. All of the free agents Cincinnati signed this winter, save for Jeimer Candelario, have contracts that expire in two years or fewer. Which two players would you put at the top of the Reds’ list if they were planning to offer contract extensions this spring, and who would you put farther down?

2 contract extensions the Reds should pursue and 2 they should avoid (for now)

The Reds should sign Noelvi Marte to a contract extension right now

Noelvi Marte is the one player who, except Matt McLain, seems to be a lock. Marte shown without a doubt that he had what it takes to succeed in the major leagues, despite having played just one game in the major leagues the previous season.

Marte had a 16-game hitting streak at the end of his first appearance on The Show. Marte has amazing speed and a passable glove, and he can hit for power as well as average. Marte is the man the Reds need if they want to build the team around him for the next ten years.

And all of the hard work has already been completed by the Detroit Tigers. The Reds now have a model for a deal involving Marte after Colt Keith and the Tigers agreed to agreement on a six-year, $28 million contract. In addition, Keith’s deal has many options that may raise its maximum value to $82 million over a nine-year period.

The Cincinnati Reds now have the chance to make the move with the player they traded for, Noelvi Marte, after acquiring him in a midsummer deal with the Seattle Mariners in 2022. The Reds traded Luis Castillo to Seattle instead of keeping him in Cincinnati. It’s imperative that the Reds sign Marte before he becomes too costly to keep around.

The Reds should wait a little longer before extending Elly De La Cruz

While the production that a team is going to receive from a player like Noelvi Marte feels relatively stable, the same cannot be said for Elly De La Cruz. Last year’s rookie sensation may well be the best player in baseball within the next three years. He could also fizzle out and find himself in a bench role.

While the former seems much more likely than the latter, all Reds fans have to go on at the moment are the numbers that De La Cruz put up in 2023. De La Cruz, who has some of the best raw talent in the game, struck out over 33% of the time during his rookie season. Yikes!

Now, it’s important not to overreact to that number. Some Reds fans think it’s funny to toss out comparisons to the likes of former Cincinnati outfielder Aristides Aquino, and that’s just factually inaccurate. Too many fans forget that Aquino was nearly 26 years old when he went on that month-long tear in August of 2019. De La Cruz just turned 22 last month.

De La Cruz has fewer than 400 big league at-bats. And with such volatility in his stats, it would very difficult to commit to the type of contract extension it would likely take in order to sign De La Cruz long-term. While the Reds might be able to use the Colt Keith contract as a good barometer, De La Cruz is probably looking for something in the Bobby Witt Jr. range.

But having only been in the league since last June, it’s hard to commit that type of money. Scott Boras is also De La Cruz’s agent, so the idea of a contract extension might be off the table altogether. Boras prefers to take his clients onto the open market rather than just negotiating with one team. For now, the Reds should probably avoid signing De La Cruz to a long-term deal.

The Reds should jump at the chance to sign Alexis Diaz to a contract extension

No, I’m not joking. There has been a meteoric rise in the price of both starting pitchers and relievers in recent years. If the Cincinnati Reds want to be a championship-caliber team, they need a closer like Alexis Diaz to shut the door in the ninth inning.

During a portion of the season, Diaz was among the game’s top relievers. It wasn’t until the San Diego Padres ended Diaz’s 27-game save run last season that it came to an end. A closer who can record key strikeouts is essential if half of your team’s games will be played at Great American Ball Park, a bandbox.

In 2022, Diaz saw some work as the Reds’ closer. At the start of the season, Hunter Strickland was in charge of close, but Diaz gradually took over in the latter months. Last season, the right-hander recorded eight multi-inning appearances, struck out 86 batters over 67.1 innings of work, recorded 37 saves, and was dubbed the Reds closer for 2023.

Analyzing Diaz’s statistics from the start of the season until July 31st reveals a reliever with a 2.09 ERA and 2.58 FIP. In 50 appearances, he recorded 68 punch outs and converted 32 of 33 save opportunities. Well done, that is truly outstanding.

Unfortunately, Diaz’s results are a touch skewed because the bullpen was overworked down the stretch. In his last two months on the mound, Diaz threw a 5.40 ERA while walking 16 batters and striking out 18.

While the five-year, $102 million deal that Edwin Diaz’s brother received was undeserved, the Reds would be wise to purchase Alexis Diaz’s arbitration years and add a couple of team options beyond the 2027 season. Diaz is 27 years old.

The Reds shouldn’t offer a contract extension to Christian Encarnacion-Strand just yet

Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s potential acquisition by the Cincinnati Reds front staff is being coveted by an increasing number of fans. Although it’s not the worst idea, Cincinnati should hold off for the moment for a few reasons.

To start, Encarnacion-Strand’s major league experience is limited to less than 100 games. Despite his enormous pop, the slugger missed over 30% of his batted balls last year. Everything will change if those figures drop back down to the 20.7% K-rate that Encarnacion-Strand achieved while playing in the minors. To demonstrate his ability to adapt to pitching in the major leagues, though, he requires a bit more time.

And then there’s the role he performs. Thoughts that Noelvi Marte, who plays a premium position, should be extended by the Reds have been floating about for a while. Marte originally started at shortstop, but he now plays third base because Elly De La Cruz is in the lineup. Although he is more athletic than first baseman or designated hitters often are, Encarnacion-Strand is nonetheless underappreciated.

Also, the Reds have a lot of depth at the position in terms of prospects. The Reds’ other highly regarded prospects, Cam Collier and Sal Stewarts, could easily fill in for Encarnacion-Strand in that capacity. Deciding to let this play out for a while longer would be the right choice.

With his natural abilities, Christian Encarnacion-Strand is sure to be a major league hit machine. The idea that Encarnacion-Strand may hit 40 home runs in 2024 wouldn’t surprise anyone in Reds Country. But before the Reds throw their weight behind 24-year-old Encarnacion-Strand, they would be wise to make sure he can live up to everyone’s high expectations.