Elly De La Cruz thought Reds were going to sign Kyle Schwarber: ‘Was going to be fun’

Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz believed that his team was going to get a huge boost in the lineup this offseason.

Before Kyle Schwarber signed a five-year, $150 million deal to stay with the Phillies in December, De La Cruz thought that the three-time All-Star was joining the Reds.

“I thought we were going to get him,” De La Cruz told The Enquirer on Friday. “That was going to be fun.”

De La Cruz also said he saw Schwarber on his free agent visit for Cincinnati while working out at the Reds’ facility, and that they had a brief conversation.

It was rumored early in the offseason that Schwarber, an Ohio native, could have signed with the Reds, and that they offered him a five-year deal worth $125 million, according to multiple reports.

Though Schwarber ultimately remained in Philadelphia, he admitted that he was “impressed” by the Reds after meeting with them.

“I was impressed,” Schwarber told MLB.com in December. “Me and [my wife] Paige went down to Cincinnati, and we were able to sit down and have that conversation with them and hear them out. I would say that they were not pulling chains, and that they were wanting to try to get me to Cincinnati.

“There are things that you have to cover your bases and every aspect of it. We had those conversations, and I appreciate every conversation I had with every team.”

De La Cruz was not alone in thinking that Schwarber could have wound up in Cincinnati, as Phillies teammate Bryce Harper told reporters earlier in February that he also thought the designated hitter was signing with the Reds.

“I thought Kyle was going to go to Cincinnati to tell you the truth,” Harper said. “I thought it was a done deal going to Cincinnati just because being at home and things like that.

“Obviously I didn’t know. We kind of messed with him the whole time about him going back home and playing in front of his fan base.”

Schwarber was regarded as one of the top available bats this free agency after having a career year in 2025, posting a slash line of .240/.365/.563 with an NL-leading 56 homers while leading all of MLB in RBIs (132).