KC Royals targeting Cincinnati Reds star in trade to bolster batting lineup

While the Kansas City Royals' offseason to-do list isn't as long this year as it was last, the team still has some work to do if they want another playoff run in 2025. One of the Royals' top priorities this winter is bolstering the batting lineup with at least one reliable hitter, and on November 16, The Athletic's C. Trent Rosecrans and Ken Rosenthal reported that the Royals are targeting a comeback star on the Cincinnati Reds — Jonathan India.

"India, the Cincinnati Reds’ second baseman, is one of several hitters the Kansas City Royals are targeting, according to sources briefed on the team’s discussions," wrote Rosecrans and Rosenthal. "And Singer, a right-handed starting pitcher coming off one of his best seasons, is drawing interest from the Reds and other teams seeking to deepen their rotations, the sources said."

Is Jonathan India a fit for the KC Royals' roster?

The 2024 season was a bounce-back year of sorts for India, who struggled with injuries during his 2022 and 2023 campaigns and only managed 103 and 119 games in each season, respectively. His debut season in 2021 saw him slash .269/.376/.459 with 21 home runs and earn the title of NL Rookie of the Year, but hamstring issues and plantar fasciitis kept India's numbers down over the two seasons that followed.

Fortunately, the 27-year-old seemed to overcome his injury woes this season. In 151 games with the Reds, India posted a .248/.357/.392 line with 132 hits, 15 home runs, and 58 RBI. He struck out in just 19.6% of his 533 at-bats while drawing a walk at a 12.6% clip, making India one of just three MLB players this season — alongside Freddie Freeman and Juan Soto — to post a strikeout percentage under 20% with a walk rate of at least 12%.

While India's power isn't likely to win him a Silver Slugger Award in the next season, he's proven himself to be a reliable and consistent presence at the plate, which is exactly what the Royals need. Having said that, finding him playing time at second base could bring some complications.

The Royals currently have Michael Massey slotted in as their everyday second baseman, and like India, he's never played in any other position at the professional level. Despite putting up career-best numbers on offense in 2024, there's an argument to be made that Massey would be better suited as a platoon player, and if the Royals are able to utilize the designated hitter position, perhaps acquiring India wouldn't entirely shake up Massey's playing time.

KC Royals have pitching depth to lose Brady Singer

On November 3, the Royals announced they'd re-signed veteran starter Michael Wacha to a three-year deal with a club option for 2028. It was the team's first big move of the offseason, and with Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Wacha confirmed to return in 2025, Kansas City has a fierce 1-2-3 at the top of the rotation.

So could the team afford to trade away starter Brady Singer?

A few days after Wacha's signing, Royals' general manager J.J. Picollo told MLB.com's Anne Rogers at the annual GM meetings that he's confident in the team's rotation depth, listing the players he can use as starters.

“We’re very comfortable with our starting pitching right now," Picollo said. "You’ve got Wacha, Lugo, Ragans, Singer, Marsh. Kris Bubic was in the bullpen this past year, but we believe he’s a starter. Daniel Lynch went to the bullpen and did a nice job, but he’s another one who could be a starter. We don’t expect to be in the market for a starter moving forward.”

Along with Alec Marsh, Kris Bubic, and Daniel Lynch IV, the Royals also have Kyle Wright coming back this season. Wright was acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Braves at the end of the 2023 season, but missed all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Prior to his injury woes, Wright posted a 21-5 record and 3.19 ERA in 2022 with the Braves, recording the most wins of any pitcher in MLB that season. While the Royals have now reactivated the 29-year-old off the IL, their plans for him next season remain unclear.

With the depth they have at the back end of their rotation, trading a starter to bolster the team's offense makes a lot of sense for the Royals, and Singer will likely garner the biggest return.

In 2024, arbitration-eligible Singer posted a 3.71 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 32 starts, along with with career-best numbers in strikeouts (170) and innings pitched (179.2). After a disappointing season in 2023 — 5.52 ERA in 159.2 innings (29 starts) — this year marked an impressive comeback for Singer, which only raises the 28-year-old's value on the trade market.

Still, Rosecrans and Rosenthal clarified that the potential trade of India and Singer "was not close on Saturday, and is just one of several possibilities under consideration for both clubs."