Royals acquire Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer for Brady Singer

The Royals make their first big trade this winter.

The Royals announced they have acquired infielder Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer from the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Brady Singer.

Rumors about this deal have been percolating for a week now, here’s what we wrote when they first surfaced.

India and Singer were teammates at the University of Florida and were each first round picks in 2018. India made his debut in 2021, a year after Singer and won Rookie of the Year by hitting .269/.376/.459 with 21 home runs. He has consistently been a solid on-base hitter in his four seasons, drawing a career-high 80 walks this year, tied for the fifth-most in all of baseball. His power his diminished a bit from his rookie year, but he still hit 15 home runs and 28 doubles, while hitting .248/.357/.392.

The 27-year-old has two years of club control left, just like Singer, and will earn $5 million next season under his contract. With the Reds and Royals both looking to contend next year, this trade make sense as a pure baseball move. The Reds have a crowded infield next year with the return of Matt McLain, and could use more pitching to pair with their young hitters. The Royals had the worst offensive numbers from the leadoff spot out of any team in baseball, and India could give them the table-setter they need in front of MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr.

India will almost certainly become the leadoff hitter for this team, the question now is where he plays on the field. He played third base in the minors, but has exclusively played second base in the big leagues and has a poor arm. He could move to the outfield, but he has never played the position at the pro level.

Joey Wiemer is an interesting kicker to the deal. A former top 100 prospect, he hit .204/.283/.362 in 410 plate appearances for the Brewers in 2023. He spent most of this season in the minors and really struggled, and was sent to the Reds in a deal for pitcher Frankie Montas. He’s a toolsy outfielder with great speed, great raw power, and a tremendous arm, but he has little to show for it in terms of results. The 25-year-old is a right-handed bat and could compete for a reserve outfield role.

Singer bounced back from a disastrous 2023 season to post a 3.71 ERA in 32 starts with 170 strikeouts in 179 2⁄3 innings. Since he made his debut in 2020, he has 10.5 fWAR, ranking 36th out of 173 starting pitchers in that time.