In late November, the Cincinnati Reds and the Kansas City Royals agreed to a trade. In the trade, the Royals acquired infielder Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer. At the same time, the Reds got pitcher Brady Singer.
In 2024, Brady Singer made 32 starts for the Royals, posting a 3.71 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP over 179.2 innings. In the meantime, Jonathan India played 151 games for the Reds, slashing .248/.357/.392 with 15 home runs and 58 RBI. Joey Wiemer played 19 games for the Brewers and 2 games for the Reds. He hit .154/.214/.154 in 2024. Both Singer and India are key players in 2024, so why did this trade happen? Is it truly necessary?
Firstly, let’s look at the Reds pitching performance in 2024. This season, there are 4 Reds pitchers who threw 100+ innings. Hunter Greene made 26 starts, posting a 2.75 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP over 150.1 innings. Nick Martinez made 16 starts and 26 relief appearances for the Reds. He owned a 3.10 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 142.1 innings. At the same time, Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo each made 20+ starts for the Reds. Abbott posted a 3.72 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP over 138 innings. Nonetheless, Lodolo finished the season with an ERA over 4. Among the Reds pitchers in 2024, no one made more starts than Singer did for the Royals. Furthermore, Singer tossed more innings than each of the Reds pitchers did in 2024. Hence, adding Singer seems to be a reasonable move to enhance the Reds rotation.
Now, let’s look at the hitting performance of the Royals second basemen this season. In 2024, there were 3 players who played second base for the Royals. Adam Frazier played 104 games, hitting .202/.282/.294 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI. Michael Massey played 100 games for the Royals, slashing .259/.294/.449 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI. In the meantime, Nick Loftin played 57 games, batting .189/.282/.236 with 1 home run and 14 RBI. Taking a closer look, among 3 players who played second base for the Royals in 2024, none of them finished the season with an on-base percentage over .300. Moreover, in 2024, Jonathan India crushed 15 home runs, which are more than Massey’s 14 home runs. Therefore, adding Jonathan India is a reasonable decision for the Royals, in particular, he can get on base.
So, looking back at the 2024 season, it’s reasonable to see the Reds and the Royals make a swap. However, it might be still too early to tell if this is a win-win trade. Of course, we have to watch whether these players can play well in 2025. Firstly, can Brady Singer pitch well in the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park? In addition, interestingly, India’s batting average in Kauffman Stadium is over .400 thus far in his career. He did hit well against the Royals here. But it will be worth watching his performance against other opponents in the pitcher-friendly Kauffman Stadium. Also, Joey Wiemer is in this trade. Will he have more opportunities in the 2025 season?
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