MLB-NEWS: The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds’ ace shortstop have officially reached an agreement. According to ESPN, a three-year, $136.1 million contract was signed, albeit regrettably…..

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Santiago Espinal hits two-run homer, Cincinnati Reds hold on to beat Chicago Cubs | TSN

The Cincinnati Reds must sign Elly De La Cruz to an extension

Superstars are a bargain.

Young superstars are an extra special bargain.

Let me explain.

On any given day, a baseball team has to field 10 players (now that we have the designated injury everywhere). The challenge, then, is to pull the most value possible out of those 10 spots.

Espinal has 3 RBIs, Cruz pitches out of another jam as Reds beat Phillies 7-4

Now, let’s talk about value. For the moment, remove money from the equation. I’m want to use WAR (and I’m not really interested in litigating it. WAR is an imperfect stat that generally gets the job done). An average player is generally considered to be someone who generates 2.0 WAR over roughly a full season.

Espinal has 3 RBIs, Cruz pitches out of another jam as Reds beat Phillies 7-4

That is AVERAGE. That means that about half of players who play a full season don’t get there. And about half pass it up. Obviously, winning teams have more above average players than losing teams. The more value you can pack into one position, the better your chances of having a winning record.

Espinal has 3 RBIs, Cruz pitches out of another jam as Reds beat Phillies 7-4

And this is where the value of superstars comes in. And this is where we talk about Elly De La Cruz and how the Cincinnati Reds need to lock him up right now. Currently, he has 4.4 WAR (per FanGraphs) for the season.

Espinal has 3 RBIs, Cruz pitches out of another jam as Reds beat Phillies 7-4

That’s second in the National League and sixth in all of baseball. It puts him on pace for 7.3 WAR by the end of the year. That would be the best season a Reds shortstop has ever produced. Yes, better than any season Barry Larkin ever had.

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