Royals-Reds complete Jonathan India trade after negotiations boil over

Update: First report omitted Jonathan India and Brady Singer as part of the trade between the Reds and Royals.

The Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals pulled off trade ahead of the non-tender deadline. A deal that's been discussed for the better part of a week has come to fruition, as Jonathan India is now a member of the Kansas City Royals.

The Reds traded India, along with outfielder Joey Wiemer — whom they acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers at the 2024 MLB trade deadline — to the Royals in exchange for Brady Singer.

Royals-Reds complete Jonathan India trade after negotiations boil over

The Reds and Royals have been tied at the hip for the past week after trade rumors arose linking India to KC. The Reds second baseman is no stranger to trade rumors and was the subject of conversations last winter. And finally after days of negotiations, it appears that he's headed to KC. India won the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Award and had been viewed as the heart and soul of the Reds organization for the past few seasons.

Wiemer will be joining India in Kansas City. The University of Cincinnati product was involved in the Reds' midseason trade with the Brewers that sent Frankie Montas to the Cream City. The Reds received Wiemer and Jakob Junis in return. Wiemer had a cup of coffee with the Reds last season and spent most of time at Triple-A Louisville. Wiemer posted a .368 OPS in 26 at-bats in the bigs last season and a .508 OPS with the Louisville Bats.

The Reds receive a boost to their starting rotation with the addition of Singer. Given that Brandon Williamson and Julian Aguiar are out for the 2025 season, Singer brings added depth to the Reds rotation that features Hunter Greene, Nick Martinez, Nick Lodolo, and Andrew Abbott.

Last season with the Royals, Singer was 9-13 with a 3.71 ERA 32 starts. The right-hander recorded 170 strikeouts in just under 180 innings of work. Singer does a great job at getting ground balls, which will certainly play well at Great American Ball Park.

India was a fan-favorite and will be definitely be missed. His vacancy at second base will likely be filled by Matt McLain who missed all of last season with a shoulder injury. The Reds also re-signed Santiago Espinal on Friday afternoon.

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