3 Royals whose roles in KC just changed after Brady Singer trade

On November 22, the Kansas City Royals surprised fans by trading starting pitcher Brady Singer to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for second baseman Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer. It was a major move to acquire a reliable leadoff batter before the 2025 season, and while India will likely to a great fit in that role, the transaction as a whole has shaken things up in Kansas City.

Here are three Royals players whose roles in Kansas City have changed after Singer's trade to the Reds.

Kris Bubic is likely to join the KC Royals' starting rotation

The top of the Royals' rotation is set for 2025, with Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Michael Wacha locked in as arguably the best 1-2-3 punch in MLB. The backend is less certain, but with Brady Singer now vacating a spot, the door is wide open for Kris Bubic to step up.

Bubic began the 2023 season in the Royals' rotation, but his season ended after just three starts when he underwent Tommy John surgery. The 27-year-old wasn't reactivated from the IL until July 2024, and pitched out of the Royals' bullpen for the remainder of the 2024 season, earning a 2.67 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 30.1 innings.

With Bubic now healthy, Royals general manager J.J. Picollo told reporters at the early-November GM Meetings that the front office saw him potentially returning as a starter next season.

"We’re very comfortable with our starting pitching right now," Picollo said. "You’ve got [Michael] Wacha, [Seth] Lugo, [Cole] Ragans, [Brady] Singer, [Alec] Marsh. Kris Bubic was in the bullpen this past year, but we believe he’s a starter... We don’t expect to be in the market for a starter moving forward."

Picollo made those comments before Singer was traded away, so with there now being at least one vacant spot in the rotation, Bubic getting a shot at starting in 2025 is all but certain.

Michael Massey may have to be a platoon player at second base

With India joining the roster, Michael Massey's role as the Royal's everyday second baseman is now in question. Massey's .259/.294/.449 slashline in 332 at-bats this year was respectable, but since India is slated to be the team's new leadoff hitter, the new acquisition will almost certainly take preference when it comes to claiming second base.

That leaves a few options for Massey.

Firstly, he could move to another position to make room for India at second base. The most obvious offensive weakness in the infield is Maikel Garcia, so taking over his third base duties isn't entirely out of the question, though Garcia's defense is strong enough to earn him at least some time in the position. According to the Kansas City Star's Sam McDowell, the Royals have "talked with Massey about left field," so a move to the outfield or a utility role is a more likely answer than taking over Garcia's spot.

Another option for Massey is a super-platoon situation at second base with India, and considering Massey's history with injuries, that probably wouldn't be a bad thing.

Massey started the 2024 season on the IL with back tightness, and after returning to the lineup on April 19, he only managed four weeks of play before he was back on the IL with a low back ligament strain. The 26-year-old wasn't reactivated again until June 24, so only appeared in a total of 100 games in the regular season, and only 82 of them were at second base since he stayed as the team's designated hitter while he recovered.

The Royals' plan for Massey next season probably won't be revealed before spring training, though the most likely scenario is for him to step into a utility role, covering some innings at second base but largely splitting his time between the outfield and designated hitter. Regardless of where he ends up, Massey's utilization in 2025 will be a storyline to watch.

Hunter Renfroe could lose his position in the KC Royals' outfield

Along with India, the Royals acquired outfielder Joey Wiemer from the Reds, which could shake up the team's outfield squad in 2025. In 2024, Kansas City utilized Hunter Renfroe, MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, Tommy Pham, and Garrett Hampson in the outfield, and all five players struggled at the plate, each posting an OPS under .700 during the regular season.

At the Royals' end-of-season press conference, Picollo admitted that "the offense from the outfield positions has to get better."

“Generally speaking, when you’re looking at left field, right field, that’s where you’re thinking about power guys," he said. "And we know this ballpark doesn’t lend itself to homers, but it does lend itself to slug. So we’ve got to be more productive there.”

Pham and Hampson both became free agents after the World Series, so won't be returning next season. The Royals tendered contracts to both Melendez and Isbel before the deadline on November 22, so despite the two outfielders' questionable offensive stats, the team presumably still plans to use their services in 2025.

That leaves Hunter Renfroe. The Royals signed Renfroe to a one-year $5.5 million contract before the 2024 season, with a $7.5 million player option for 2025. On October 31, Renfroe exercised said option, meaning he will return to Kansas City's lineup next season — even if they wish he wouldn't.

In 2024, Renfroe slashed a disappointing .229/.297/.392 with 15 home runs and a career-low 52 RBI in 385 at-bats. His lack of power at the plate was an ongoing problem all season, though it certainly wasn't the 32-year-old's only issue — his defense also left plenty to be desired. Renfroe earned an abysmal -7 Outs Above Average (OAA) to see him rank in the bottom 6% of all qualified fielders this season, according to Baseball Savant.

While the Royals have likely seen enough from Renfroe, Weimer has plenty of potential to reach, and the team is almost certain to give the 25-year-old a shot. The 2024 season was only Weimer's second in the majors, with the outfielder having made his debut in April 2023 with the Milwuakee Brewers before being traded to the Reds in July 2024.

So far, Weimer is yet to make a big impression in the majors. In 393 big-league at-bats over the last two seasons, he posted a .201/.279/.349 line with an elevated 28.5% strikeout rate. Weimer spent the majority of the 2024 season in Triple-A, where he slashed .224/.351/.312 in 295 at-bats split between the Brewers' and Reds' minor league affiliates.

Still, Weimer has a lot of potential with the right development, and if he can prove himself at spring training, the Royals will almost certainly trial him in the outfield. However, it may mean Renfroe finds himself starting the 2025 season on the bench.