The Royals are acquiring second baseman Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer from the Reds for starter Brady Singer, the teams announced. Robert Murray of FanSided first reported (on X) that Wiemer was being traded to Kansas City. Ken Rosenthal and C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic reported last week that the teams were discussing an India-Singer framework.
It’s a swap of big league veterans at positions of need between teams that expect to compete for a playoff spot. India and Singer are former college teammates at Florida who each went in the first round of the 2018 draft. Both players got to the big leagues within a couple seasons and have been solid contributors over four years at the MLB level.
Kansas City was looking to strengthen the lineup, particularly by adding a reliable leadoff hitter to bat in front of MVP runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. That responsibility should fall to India, who has proven himself a consistent on-base threat. The righty-hitting infielder is a career .253/.352/.412 hitter. He’s coming off a .248/.357/.392 slash across 637 plate appearances, the second-best season of his career.
India started his career with a bang. He won the National League’s Rookie of the Year award in 2021, hitting .269/.376/.459 with 21 homers and 34 doubles while appearing in 150 games. India hasn’t quite maintained that level in the ensuing three seasons. That’s partially due to injury, as he missed time with hamstring and foot issues over the next two years. He combined for a .246/.333/.394 slash with 27 homers in 222 games over that stretch. That’s middling production for a player who spent his home games at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, arguably the league’s most hitter-friendly venue aside from Coors Field.
More to come.