MLB rumors: Reds, Royals in talks for Jonathan India, Brady Singer trade
11/16/2024 04:19 PM
The Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals want to wheel and deal during the MLB offseason. A deal isn’t imminent, but the two clubs are working on a possible trade involving Reds second baseman Jonathan India and Royals righty starter Brady Singer, per C. Trent Rosencrans and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
The two were teammates at the University of Florida and former first-round picks, India selected at No. 5 and Singer at No. 18.
The Royals are also considering trading LHP Kris Bubic and RHP Alec Marsh in exchange for a hitter. However, most contending teams are pursuing Singer, especially since, like India, he is under club control for two more seasons. Singer is approximated to earn $8.5 million in arbitration in 2025.
India is under contract for $5.45M in 2025.
The second base was a problematic position for the Royals in 2024. They fielded five different players at the position.
Interested teams view Royals starters Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans or Michael Wacha as too difficult or expensive to acquire, which makes Singer the more likely trade candidate.
Royals retooling, Reds rebuilding
The Reds are coming off a 77-85 season, down a bit from their 82-80 finish in 2023. Cincinnati hasn’t qualified for the postseason since 2013, manager Dusty Baker’s last season with the club. While the Reds have some exciting young pieces like Elly De La Cruz, Spencer Steer and Hunter Greene, they must continue to build up their roster and farm system with prospects to compete long-term in the NL Central.
The Reds hired Terry Francona to be their manager after firing Bell, now the VP of baseball operations and assistant general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Adding bats to support Bobby Witt Jr. has to be the priority for the Royals. Kansas City is rumored to be courting New York Yankees’ leadoff hitter Gleyber Torres.
The Royals are also rumored to be after Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Teoscar Hernandez, per Rachel Millanta of FanSided.
“Signing Hernández on a one-year contract like he had with the Dodgers isn’t out of the question — but the Royals would have to strike early. There are likely to be a number of teams interested in acquiring Hernández for his strong bat, and many will be open to offering a longer, more lucrative deal that Kansas City is able to.”
General manager J.J. Picollo also wants to improve the Royals’ outfielders.
"The offense from the outfield positions has to get better," Picollo said. "Generally speaking, when you're looking at left field, right field, that's where you're thinking about power guys. 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."
Once some of the major free-agent players in this offseason are settled, small-market teams like the Reds and Royals need to move quickly to secure the best available players.
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