The Royals are acquiring second baseman Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer from the Reds for starter Brady Singer, the teams announced. Robert Murray of FanSided first reported (on X) that Wiemer was being traded to Kansas City. Ken Rosenthal and C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic reported last week that the teams were discussing an India-Singer framework.
It’s a swap of big league veterans at positions of need between teams that expect to compete for a playoff spot. India and Singer are former college teammates at Florida who each went in the first round of the 2018 draft. Both players got to the big leagues within a couple seasons and have been solid contributors over four years at the MLB level.
Kansas City was looking to strengthen the lineup, particularly by adding a reliable leadoff hitter to bat in front of MVP runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. That responsibility should fall to India, who has proven himself a consistent on-base threat. The righty-hitting infielder is a career .253/.352/.412 hitter. He’s coming off a .248/.357/.392 slash across 637 plate appearances, the second-best season of his career.
More to come.
