By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Despite making the playoffs last season, the Kansas City Royals did have their share of weaknesses, one of those being in the leadoff position. To start the MLB offseason, the Royals have seemed to address that problem.
On Friday, Kansas City traded homegrown pitcher Brady Singer to the Cincinnati Reds for second baseman Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer.
India was the National League’s Rookie of the Year in 2021 and has been a key piece of the Reds’ infield for the past four years. He has a career .253/.352/.412 slash line, and in 2024, when he wasn’t totally healthy despite playing 151 games, he posted a .749 OPS with 15 home runs and 28 doubles.
India certainly fits the bill of leadoff hitter, ahead of Bobby Witt Jr in the two hole. He’s spent more time at the top of the order (341 games) than any other spots (182 games in the other eight spots combined) in his career. He also has a .257/.360/.416 slash line batting first in the lineup over his career. In 2024, India posted a .357 OBP and walked at a 12.6 percent clip, which was tied for fourth best in baseball.
Where India fits defensively is yet to be determined. He has only played second base in his MLB career, but he could have the ability to play third base and outfield. The Royals will discuss his fit, along with returning second baseman Michael Massey’s, throughout this offseason.
Massey talked with General Manager JJ Picollo this season about learning left field as a way to increase his versatility and brought up the conversation again following the Royals’ playoff exit in the American League Division Series.
Wiemer,made his debut in 2023 with the Brewers and was traded to the Reds in ’24 as part of the deal that sent Frankie Montas to Milwaukee. Wiemer is primarily a center fielder but has played all three outfield positions in the Minors and Majors.
After spending the majority of 2023 in the Majors with the Brewers -- where he posted a .645 OPS with 13 home runs -- Wiemer was in Triple-A for most of ’24 both with Milwaukee and Cincinnati. Across the two organizations, he slashed .224/.351/.312. Kyle Isbel will still get the majority of at-bats in center field for Kansas City, but Wiemer will compete for a fourth outfielder spot in Spring Training and is viewed as more of a long-term acquisition with his untapped upside.
India and Singer were once teammates at Florida and were both selected in the first round of the 2018 Draft, India by Cincinnati fifth overall and Singer by Kansas City 18th overall. The Royals have always been fond of India, and he was identified as a potential trade target during this past season
Dealing Singer away hurts the Royals, but he was their main trade candidate as a durable, controllable starter. The 28-year-old was the first of the Royals’ college pitching-heavy 2018 Draft class to reach the Majors and stick there, accumulating 8.9 bWAR as a Royal and pitching to a 4.28 ERA across 127 games (124 starts) over the past five years. In 2024, he posted a 3.71 ERA across 32 starts and 179 2/3 innings.
“Brady’s a tremendous competitor,” Picollo said. “This was not the easiest decision to make. You got a guy who takes the ball, wants to win, he’s been through the tough times and now the good times.”
But to get Major League talent, the Royals had to trade Major League talent. Parting with a starter to acquire a leadoff hitter – their No. 1 need – plus an upside young player was “a risk worth taking,” Picollo said.
Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha will return as the Royals’ top starters in 2025. To fill out the rest of the rotation, they will lean on their depth: Alec Marsh, Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch IV, Kyle Wright and prospect Noah Cameron.
-MLB.coms Anne Rogers contributed to this report
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