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Royals Could Be Ready to Move on From Former Rookie of the Year
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- Royals Could Be Ready to Move on From Former Rookie of the Year
(Peter Aiken-Imagn Images)
Jonathan India 's time with the Kansas City Royals may be ending almost as quietly as it began.
The Royals acquired India from Cincinnati in November 2024 hoping the former Rookie of the Year could add some needed offense to a lineup that had just helped the club reach the postseason. Less than two years later, Kansas City has a different second baseman, India is coming off shoulder surgery and a once-promising trade has become one of the easier decisions facing the organization this offseason.
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India is headed toward free agency, and Sports Illustrated's Brian Sparks' recent look at the Royals' offseason called him a player Kansas City can afford to let go.
That conclusion is understandable considering how little the Royals have actually gotten from the 29-year-old.
India hit .233 with nine home runs and 45 RBIs in 136 games during his first season in Kansas City. He then appeared in only 17 games this year before undergoing surgery in April to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He hit .167 with two home runs and eight RBIs in those games.
The injury was especially damaging because India had already struggled to establish himself at second base. Michael Massey took over the position and turned the opportunity into the best season of his career, hitting .272 with 13 home runs in 423 at-bats while recording 11 Outs Above Average at second.
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That makes the Royals' decision much less complicated than it might have been when they made the trade.
India was supposed to provide some of the offensive production Kansas City felt it needed after its 2024 postseason run. Instead, the Royals got one season of below-expectation production and then barely saw him in 2026.
There is an interesting wrinkle to the story, though.
The trade itself doesn't look quite as painful as it did after last season.
Brady Singer , the pitcher Kansas City sent to Cincinnati, put together a solid 2025 campaign with a 2.8 fWAR over 32 starts, helping the Reds reach the playoffs. But his 2026 season went in the opposite direction, with Singer posting a 5.85 ERA and 1.592 WHIP in what could only be described as a complete collapse.
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That doesn't erase what happened with India. It simply changes the way the deal looks from Kansas City's side.
Now the Royals can move forward without spending much time wondering whether they should try to make the original trade work.
India still has enough of a track record to attract interest elsewhere. Heavy's Michael DeRosa recently pointed to Detroit as a potential fit, noting that the Tigers could use another option at second base and could take a chance on India with a short-term deal.
For Kansas City, though, the clearest path may already be sitting at second base.
Massey established himself there while India was unavailable, and the Royals now have a decision to make about whether there is any reason to bring India back and complicate that picture.
After everything that has happened since the trade, the answer may be easier than anyone expected.
