Elly De La Cruz faces significant salary arbitration increase

Cincinnati Reds player Elly De La Cruz is set to become eligible for salary arbitration for the first time. After four seasons with a salary below $800,000, projections suggest his earnings could rise to more than $8.5 million per season.

This potential increase would make De La Cruz one of the highest-paid players in his first year of arbitration, surpassing projected figures for other notable players like Paul Skenes. His performance, which included a 30-30-30 season (home runs, doubles, and stolen bases), has driven this expected valuation.

Separately, the MLB qualifying offer price for free agents has risen 5.1% to $23.15 million, calculated based on the average of the top 125 major league contracts.