How did Royals get Reds to part with Jonathan India? It started with brief conversation
The Kansas City Royals and Cincinnati Reds recently orchestrated one of the biggest trades of the Major League Baseball offseason.
The Royals acquired infielder Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer in exchange for longtime starting pitcher Brady Singer in late November. The deal shifted India and the right-handed Singer — former Florida Gators teammates — to opposite teams.
And it all began with a short conversation.
“We touched base after the season at some point and before the GM meetings,” Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said. “We had a couple of conversations and I ended up talking to (Royals general manager) J.J. (Picollo) at the GM meetings. We had multiple conversations back and forth about what they were looking for and what we were looking for.”
The Royals desired a leadoff hitter capable of producing consistently atop their lineup. Maikel Garcia got the call last opening day and responded well with a solo home run in his first at-bat of the season.
From there, however, Garcia struggled. The Royals tried multiple other players in the No. 1 spot in the batting order, including catcher Freddy Fermin. None worked as KC hoped.
India is a proven leadoff hitter. He batted .248 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs with the Reds last season. He had a .357 on-base percentage in 151 games and also stole 13 bases.
The Royals envision India playing second base, third base and some outfield this season. His primary objective will be to set the table in the lineup in ahead of star players Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez.
“I was very excited,” India said earlier this month at the Royals Rally event in Kansas City. “I heard talk about the Royals and I knew it would be a good fit for me. Coming to a winning team and a winning organization on the come-up, it’s a better opportunity I think for me.”
The Reds’ motivation for making the India-for-Singer swap was to improve their starting pitching. While India spent four seasons with the Reds organization, Cincinnati had depth at his position within its minor-league system.
In particular, said Krall, the Reds were excited about up-and-comer Matt McLain as he returned from left-shoulder surgery. McLain missed all of last season but was productive during his rookie year (2023): He hit .290 with 16 home runs and 50 RBIs in 89 games.
The Reds wanted to move forward with McLain, Krall explained, which opened up the possibility of moving India.
“It just seemed to match up,” Krall said. “Jonathan (India) is a great guy. Loved him as a guy, a teammate and everything. But we had infielders coming up ...”
The Reds also had great interest in the 28-year-old Singer. He pitched a career-best 179 2/3 innings while posting a 3.71 ERA in 32 starts last season. He struck out 170 and finished with a 3.1 WAR (wins above replacement).
From his time in KC, Singer brings veteran experience to the Reds’ pitching rotation. No Cincinnati pitcher made more than 30 starts or recorded 170 innings last season.
“It’s hard for us to go into the free-agent market and get that amount of innings,” Reds manager Terry Francona said of acquiring Singer. “It’s going to be really valuable.”
The other piece in the trade, Wiemer, attracted the Royals’ attention enough that they asked to have him included in the deal, Krall said.
“I guess for us,” the GM said, “we had a lot of outfielders on the roster and it was just something that where we felt that ... I know he is a good defensive player that has been up and down with us and Milwaukee, but it was something we needed to do to get the deal done.”
Wiemer, 26, is competing for a roster spot with KC this spring. Describing his game as “unorthodox and athletic,” he said he learned a lot from the Reds about playing at the major-league level.
Wiemer split last season with the Brewers and Reds organizations, appearing in 28 big-league games with a .154 average. He hit .204 with 13 homers in 132 games with the Brewers in 2023.
“Going through the struggles last year was a big eye-opening year for me,” he said. “I am just trying to take that in and become who I am again.”
Wiemer can play all three positions in the outfield. That versatility could prove attractive to the Royals as they make final decisions about their opening day roster.
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 3:18 PM with the headline "How did Royals get Reds to part with Jonathan India? It started with brief conversation."
