Whether Jonathan India is still the Cincinnati Reds second baseman by Opening Day, team president Nick Krall made one thing clear on Friday:
Krall feels no need to trade India, no matter how many other infielders he has on his roster, or how many other teams continue to call about the 2021 Rookie of the Year.
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“People have called about a lot of players on our team,” Krall said. “Whether we move them or not is a completely different story.
“I look at India as a guy who fits here,” Krall added. “He does. And it’s not a perfect fit. When you look at a perfect roster, it says, OK, this player plays this position, this player plays this position, this player’s a bench player.
“You look at our club, and I think most guys were injured at some point last year. So if you have a deep bench of guys that can play every day, that’s not a fault In our roster. That’s a good thing. I would welcome that, to have guys who have experience to be able to play multiple positions, to be able to step into a spot and be a good player.”
After non-tendering Nick Senzel on Friday, Krall has seven infielders on his big-league roster before making additions this winter. Five of them are 2023 rookies, including four who debuted May 15 or later.
Another is journeyman Nick Martini.
And then there’s India, the only experienced big-league starter in the group, whose already significant clubhouse presence would seem to take on more importance next season in the absence of Joey Votto.
“I think you have enough at-bats for people; it’s just trying to figure out what those at-bats are and at what position and what they look like,” Krall said.
Make no mistake: Krall admittedly isn’t hanging up on anybody making an offer for India or anyone else.
And one major league source said during the recent general managers meetings that “everybody” wants India, who also was the subject of swirling rumors because of widespread interest leading up to the Aug. 1 trade deadline. Whether that’s a function of other teams doing the math on the Reds’ roster and eyeing India’s .350 on-base percentage that comes with 20-homer pop, the source also said the industry expectation in a trade would involve the Reds receiving prospects instead of big-league players.
That alone would seem to at least lessen the motivation to move India.
India, a first-year arbitration-eligible player whose salary figures to jump to perhaps north of $3.5 million, was one of six arb players Krall tendered contracts (also Jake Fraley, Tyler Stephenson, Lucas Sims, Alex Young and Tejay Antone).
Two others were non-tendered and became free agents: former top prospect Nick Senzel and reliever Derek Law.
Motivated to trade India?
“No,” Krall said. “That’s what I’m saying.
“I wouldn’t say we are motivated (to trade India). If a deal comes around, we have to be open to anything. But just motivated to move players off your roster just because ‘that guy might not fit (a specific spot).’ That doesn’t make any sense.”
That’s also not a promise of an everyday position anymore, even if India isn’t traded from this platoon-happy Reds team still figuring out where its cast of intriguing, talented kids eventually shake out.
And sources say the Reds are one of a handful of teams kicking the tires on switch-hitting corner infielder Jeimer Candelario. At the very least that’s due diligence in case a Candelario-type addition could be part of a larger series of maneuvers that make him a fit for a strong free agency investment.
“If you had a player like Matt McLain or Jonathan India or Christian Encarnacion-Strand or Spencer Steer on the bench, that’s a really good player,” Krall said. “That’s a player that can come in and play a certain position or multiple positions and be productive.”
At this point, Krall doesn’t even have an infield penciled into his Triple-A roster.
So trading from that talented group of potential big-league infielders? Teams are certain to keep calling. And Krall will keep listening.
“I’m going to listen on everything,” he said, adding that “we’re not even close” to planning to trade anyone.
If anything, there might be a case to be made that India is more valuable to these Reds next season than any other team and, perhaps consequently, more than any other team is willing to give up.
“He’s a first-time arbitration-eligible player; we’ve got him under control for three more seasons,” Krall said. “He fits our club. He fits our group. If you said, ‘Hey, you’ve got guys coming behind him or you’ve got guys that are pushing him out or that he doesn’t have a spot to play, that’s one thing. But he does have a spot to play here. There are at-bats here.
“Are they going to be 650, 700 plate appearances in a season? No,” Krall added. “But that also gives you the ability to give guys days off and keep guys fresh and healthy throughout the course of the year.”
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November 18, 2023 at 11:47AM
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