Royals named top landing spot for All-Star infielder who opted out of Yankees deal

Royals named top landing spot for All-Star infielder who opted out of Yankees deal originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Kansas City Royals are short on depth at second base.

Earlier this week, the AL Central club learned that Jonathan India would undergo season-ending labrum surgery.

India managed to hit just .167 with two home runs in 17 games during his second season with the Royals. Kansas City acquired him from the Cincinnati Reds in a trade for right-hander Brady Singer during the 2024-25 offseason.

With India out, Michael Massey should receive the bulk of playing time at second. However, he’s hit just .220/.255/.380 with one homer and a .635 OPS in 55 trips to the plate.

The Royals are a logical landing spot for a veteran infielder who earned an All-Star selection with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2019. The 32-year-old signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees during the offseason but opted out of his deal on Friday.

“Still, they’re [Royals] a competitive team with the ability to make a postseason run this season, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see them look to add another infielder to help lessen the blow at second base,” Zach Pressnell of Sports Illustrated wrote Friday. “[Paul] DeJong would be solid depth after the India injury. Right now, they have Michael Massey starting at second base, and he’s struggled quite a bit. Adding DeJong would give them an additional veteran option as depth.”

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As mentioned, DeJong opted out of his Yankees contract after he learned that the AL East club would not be promoting him to the Majors. At Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he hit just .203 but connected for six homers and drew sixteen walks in 83 plate appearances.

Kansas City ranks 18th in the Majors with 31 home runs and could use some extra power in its lineup. Just two seasons ago, DeJong hit 24 dingers in 139 combined games with the Royals and Chicago White Sox.