Why the Brady Singer trade is a 'full measure' and a win for the Reds

Diving into the Brady Singer for Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer deal between the Reds and Royals

For the Reds’ front office, the last few years have included a lot of half measures. Their plans to address flaws on the roster could have been more innovative.

The Reds were desperate for bullpen help at the deadline in 2021, so they acquired a few middle relievers who helped stabilize the ship but didn’t turn around the season. They needed an outfielder in 2023, so they signed Wil Myers. He got DFAd in June. To bolster the lineup and the rotation in 2024, they took chances on Jeimer Candelario and Frankie Montas. Neither player lived up to expectations. 

Trading Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer for Brady Singer feels like a different type of move. 

It was a creative deal that gives the Reds a type of pitcher they really needed. It builds on the momentum of hiring Terry Francona with another splash move as the Reds bring in the type of pitcher that’s difficult to acquire on the free agent market. 

This time, the pieces aligned for the best win-now trade of Nick Krall’s four-year tenure running the Reds’ baseball operations.

India had been a part of trade rumors since the middle of the 2023 season. As much as the Reds liked India and as many intangibles as he brought to the table, dealing him was easier said than done.

Between 2022 and 2024, India was a league average hitter who posted a 100 OPS+. He was a below average defender, didn’t add value on the basepaths and battled through a lot of injuries. 

India was one of the most important pieces in dragging the Reds out of the mess that was the 2022 season. He helped get the team back on track, which gave him added value to the Reds. But the rest of MLB saw what was on paper. 

There wasn’t a market for India at the 2024 trade deadline. At several points during the 2024 season, there was a case that Santiago Espinal should have taken over as the Reds’ starting second baseman. Over the course of Francona’s managerial career, he has given more playing time to guys like Espinal who put the ball in play and field their position very well.

It took a perfect storm for the ideal India trade to line up. The Reds found that match with Kansas City. 

The Royals might be the only team in baseball with an elite top-half of the rotation (Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha), a handful of fifth-starter types who provide pitching depth (Alec Marsh, Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch IV, Kyle Wright and prospect Noah Cameron) and a lineup that has no depth.

Outside of superstar Bobby Witt Jr., All-Star catcher Salvador Perez and underrated first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, the Royals’ lineup doesn’t have much else. Last year, the Royals’ lineup was in such bad shape that they claimed Tommy Pham in August and immediately made him their leadoff hitter. Maikel Garcia, who posted a poor .614 OPS last season, was in the leadoff spot for 101 games last year.

The Royals’ lineup desperately needed a spark. Even though India might not have been an every day player for the 2025 Reds, he’ll be a core piece of the Royals’ lineup next year. 

And Singer will be a core piece of the Reds’ rotation.

 

Signing Montas last year showed that the “upside play” approach wasn’t what the Reds needed to turn their rotation into a strength. What they really needed was a guy who knew how to take the ball every fifth day for an entire season, get outs in a hitter’s friendly ballpark and bring some more stability to the rotation. 

Every team in baseball is looking for those types of guys. Even the Dodgers ran out of starting pitching last year. 

The Reds probably weren’t going to be in the mix for free agent aces Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell and Max Fried. Outside of them, there wasn’t a single attractive free agent starting pitcher who’s younger than 35 and has averaged at least 160 innings over the last three seasons. 

The Reds could have made a push for Yusei Kikuchi, whose numbers look a lot like Singer’s and just signed a three-year deal for $63 million with the Angels. 

They could have taken a chance on Walker Buehler or picked up an innings eater like Nathan Eovaldi. 

Those would have been half measures. Singer was the best option of the bunch. 

Over the last three years, he ranks 24th among big league pitchers in total WAR. Singer made a significant impact in Kansas City as the Royals went from a 100-loss team in 2023 to a playoff team in 2024. 

“Brady’s a tremendous competitor,” Royals GM J.J. Picollo said. “This was not the easiest decision to make. You got a guy who takes the ball, wants to win.”

Wiemer joins the Royals as a part of the deal, and his tenure in the Reds’ organization is best reflected by his .191 batting average with the Louisville Bats in Triple-A last year. Wiemer still has some upside as a good defender with some pop. But he has spent the last several years making big adjustments to his batting stance, and he hasn’t found any consistency. 

The reports out of Louisville about Wiemer were in line with his statistics. The Reds also have some backup center field options in Stuart Fairchild, Blake Dunn and Will Benson, who have all shown more than Wiemer. 

So the Reds dealt a guy who would have been a utility player (India) and a guy who wouldn’t have made the Opening Day roster (Wiemer) for their new No. 3 starter. The Reds made their big league roster stronger without taking anything away from their farm system. 

The Reds solidified their rotation as the strength of the team. The group has a good combination of upside, reliability, depth and versatility. 

The trade accomplishes a lot, and it’s a lot more inspiring than the Reds’ “big moves” from the last few offseasons. 

This one is a clear win.