KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Kansas City Royals tonight announced that they have acquired infielder Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer from the Cincinnati Reds for right-handed pitcher Brady Singer. Kansas City’s Major League Reserve List is now at 38.
India, 27, played in a career-high 151 games in 2024 and slashed .248/.357/.392 (132-for-533) with 45 extra-base hits (.750 OPS). He drew a career-best 80 walks this season, tied for 5th most in the Majors behind only Aaron Judge (133), Juan Soto (129), Kyle Schwarber (106) and Shohei Ohtani (81). Over his four-year Major League career—all of which he’s spent with the Reds organization—he’s batted in the leadoff spot more than any other position, hitting first in 341 of his 523 career games (65.2%). Defensively, he’s posted a .978 career fielding percentage at second base, including a career-best .991 in 133 games (132) at the position this season, a mark that ranked 2nd among all qualified second basemen. India was originally drafted by the Reds 5th overall in the 2018 First-Year Player Draft, just 13 spots behind his University of Florida teammate Singer, who was selected by the Royals 18th overall.
Wiemer, 25, split time between the Brewers and Reds organizations in 2024, as he was traded to Cincinnati with pitcher Jakob Junis on July 30 for pitcher Frankie Montas. He opened the season with Triple-A Nashville but was recalled on April 14 and played in 19 games for the Brewers around a brief stint on the Injured List. Following his trade to Cincinnati, he played in just 2 games for the Reds and ended the season with Triple-A Louisville, where he played in 30 games. This marked Wiemer’s second season in the Majors, after playing in 132 games (113 starts) for Milwaukee in 2023, when he recorded 13 home runs and 11 stolen bases. Over his two-year career, he’s played in 17 games in left field (6 starts), 123 games in center field (103 starts) and 15 games in right field (10 starts). Wiemer was originally selected by Milwaukee in the 4th round of the 2020 Draft out of the University of Cincinnati.
Singer, 28, set career highs in 2024 in starts (32), innings (179.2) and strikeouts (170). He recorded a 3.71 ERA (74 ER in 179.2 IP), after posting a career-worst 5.52 ERA (98 ER in 159.2 IP) in 2023. That marked a difference of 1.81, which was the 2nd-biggest improvement in the Majors (min. 25 starts in 2023 and 2024), trailing only Jack Flaherty, who lowered his ERA from 4.99 to 3.17 (-1.82). Singer has made at least 20 starts in each of the last four seasons (2021-24), becoming the third Royal in the last 25 years to do so. Since his 2020 debut, he ranks 3rd in the American League in starts (124) and 5th in innings (685.1). He’s spent the entirety of his career in the Royals organization after being selected in the 1st round (18th overall) of the 2018 Draft.
