3 reasons why the Royals might retain Jonathan India this offseason

The Kansas City Royals made their offseason expectations and goals somewhat clear in the traditional after-season press conference. But the tone of the event was very much that of a team unhappy with themselves for an 82-80 record if it meant being out of the playoffs.

There were plenty of warts on the 2025 Royals that kept them out of October and it isn’t a shock to consider second baseman Jonathan India one such wart.

Kansas City acquired India from the Cincinnati Reds last offseason for pitcher Brady Singer, in a deal that seemingly trade from the Royals’ strength to address their woeful leadoff production.

But while Singer went on to have another good year on the mound, India took a big step back at the plate and in the field, losing his leadoff spot and surefire starter status. He is under team control for 2026, but with a big raise on the horizon, the Royals have a decision to make regarding retaining India or not.

So, the question remains if Kansas City looks at the player and the 2025 season and deem it is what they should expect for 2026 or if another chance is warranted. For all the reasons Kansas City shouldn’t retain India this offseason, there area few reasons they might just talk themselves into doing the opposite.

3 reasons why the Royals might retain Jonathan India this offseason

If not Jonathan India, who?

For all the love I give Kansas City’s progress in the prospect pipeline, it is moments like this that make its current state feel very, very poor. Middle infielders of the toolsy type used to be Kansas City’s bread and butter, so much so that fans groaned at the mention of a player being able to play both second and short if needed. While Kansas City still has those players in the organization, none of them feel ready to step into India’s role, even in an abbreviated fashion.

Now, don’t misunderstand; there are plenty of options at second base. Michael Massey. Nick Loftin. Tyler Tolbert. Javier Vaz. Peyton Wilson. This is just looking at players under contract for the Royals, but each have some severe flaws and very few elite calling cards.

Massey couldn’t stay healthy last season and his back problems are an issue to manage, not cure. Loftin had moments, but overall failed to grab a bigger role thanks to his work at the plate. Tyler Tolbert looks like the pinch runner kept in manager Matt Quatraro’s pocket. Wilson struggled after his promotion to Triple-A, despite spending most of the season there. Vaz just wrapped up his first below-average wRC+ season after a finger injury hampered his season.

This is not a situation where Kansas City can trust an internal option will supplant India if they non-tender him. For a smaller payroll team like Kansas City, retaining a more expensive player might be more palatable considering they already need to improve the position’s depth and India has a year in Kansas City already under his belt.

There are plenty of trade targets or free agents that could replace India, but that depends on if Kansas City sees that as viable while also improving one of the game’s worst batting outfields.

Jonathan India’s season could have been different without a position change

The Royals drew some raised eyebrows and eventual ire by trying to move India to anywhere but his natural second base spot. It makes sense, trying to keep Massey in the field at the time and find somewhere to keep India in the lineup that wasn’t designated hitter.

But India eventually moved back to second base and down the lineup, where he was still below average, but a more valuable batter.

This all points to the mental side of the game. But as India is getting used to a new town, new coaches, new teammates, he also had to learn a new position.

For those who point to India’s collegiate career and say he has third base experience thanks to his time at Florida, think about why the Reds felt the need to move India’s position. India was a fine collegiate third baseman, but whether it be the nuance, speed of the game, or quality of opponent, playing that position in MLB is a different beast altogether.

India isn’t a fielding savant, no matter where he played. But how much could his ramp up to the season, focus on progressing at the plate, or growing more comfortable with his new team been more optimized if he wasn’t worried about playing a new spot in the field? I would double down on this, saying the subsequent errors and missteps at his new positions would have only had a further negative toll on India, translating that to the plate.

India had a good heart-to-heart with MLB.com’s Anne Rogers earlier this season after he was taken out of the leadoff spot. The veteran talked about being uncomfortable, trying to find his fire and passion ” for pretty much the whole year now.” That was in August.

So if a player is openly admitting he is uncomfortable at this point, you need to wonder how he got there. One turn on the journey, whether it be causation or correlation, is Kansas City trying to play India anywhere but second base.

Jonathan India’s 2025 was an outlier in the worst way

Lowest wRC+ in his career. Only negative fWAR season in his career. Multiple injuries. This was not an optimal first season with the Royals for India, no doubt about it. This was also less than ideal considering it was somewhat of a contract year for India. But, there is little room to deny that the 2025 campaign was an outlier in many ways.

Merriam-Webster defines outlier as “a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample.” That needs to be understood becasue yes, India had a down year in 2022 that was marred by injury, but 2025 was different that even that one.

That season, India wasn’t dealing with the position change, the team change, the playoff expectations that came with being in Kansas City this year. His expected batting numbers, most notably his .321 xwOBA, where much better in 2025 than in 2022.

Most players will have bad years, without a doubt. The game’s brightest stars may not and when they do it is a bigger deal, but no one expected India to be a superstar in Kansas City. He was hopefully an every day player, but that doesn’t make him a star.

He was supposed to be the guy who got on base in front of the stars, the second leg of a double play toss from shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. He had a role. It just didn’t work out this year.

It seemed that what India could control at the plate, he did okay. Not the best, not even by his standards. But there was some bad luck that pushed his 2025 season from so-so to bad. That is a big difference in the grand scheme of things. No baseball organization is just going to evaluate a player from their last game, season, or even team. The Royals shouldn’t make that mistake with India either.