Reds Reject Red Sox Bid for Elly De La Cruz, Who Has 3 Years of Control Left

Q: Who ultimately landed Tarik Skubal, and what massive MLB-ready package did they offer to outbid Milwaukee?

Tarik Skubal was ultimately traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The package that beat Milwaukee’s bid was a three-player return sent to Detroit: outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-hander River Ryan, and right-hander Brady Smith. Hope and Ryan were both Top 100 prospects at the time of the deal, with Hope ranked No. 25 and Ryan No. 68 by MLB Pipeline, while Smith was the Dodgers’ No. 17 prospect. That package aligned better with what Detroit wanted than Milwaukee’s offer. The Brewers were prepared to send a prospect-heavy group led by shortstop Luis Peña and two other position-player prospects, including another Top 100 talent, but the Tigers were looking for a controllable, MLB-ready or near-MLB-ready pitcher as part of the return. River Ryan, despite injury questions, fit that preference more closely than the Brewers’ proposal. So while Milwaukee made a serious push and was willing to “push a lot of chips in,” the Dodgers won the bidding by offering a more Detroit-friendly mix of upside and pitching proximity: Hope, Ryan, and Smith.

3 articles · Updated · FanGraphs · Aug 6

A Red Sox attempt to trade for Elly De La Cruz went nowhere after Cincinnati turned down an offer built mostly around prospects.
The Reds had already signaled they wanted young major league talent in any De La Cruz deal and, by July 28, were telling interested teams not to bother.
That mismatch made Boston’s proposal a nonstarter for a player entering arbitration next year after extension talks reportedly stalled.
De La Cruz’s value is unusually high: since his June 2023 debut, he has produced 16.9 WAR, about 40.3% of the Reds’ position-player total over that span.
The failed pursuit still underscored Boston’s aggressive deadline approach, even after making several major trades elsewhere.