The Yankees have points on their infield and have curiosity in second baseman Jonathan India of the Reds, stories Jorge Castillo of ESPN. Nevertheless, Castillo cautions that the Reds aren’t anticipated to make India accessible until they fall out of the playoff race within the subsequent week.
India, 27, is having a resurgent season after a few tough campaigns. He has eight residence runs this 12 months and is drawing walks in 12.7% of his plate appearances whereas solely putting out 19.7% of the time. His .275/.377/.420 batting line interprets to a 123 wRC+, indicating he’s been 23% higher than league common on the plate total.
On prime of his offensive contributions, he has stolen 9 bases in ten tries. His second base protection hasn’t been nicely regarded in his profession however is best this 12 months, at the least by one metric. Defensive Runs Saved nonetheless hates him, with a grade of -8 to this point this season, however Outs Above Common has him at +1. Since he has -22 OAA in his profession, that’s a notable enchancment.
At the very least when it comes to the offense, it’s a return to his Rookie of the 12 months type. He bought that trophy in 2021 after he hit 21 residence runs and slashed .269/.376/.459 for a wRC+ of 122 whereas additionally stealing 12 bases. As talked about, the previous two seasons have been a wrestle. India frolicked on the injured listing as a result of a proper hamstring damage in 2022 and left foot plantar fasciitis in 2023 as he hit a mixed .246/.333/.394 in these two campaigns for a 98 wRC+.
Now that he’s again in good type, it’s comprehensible that the Yankees would need him. Along with his expertise on the sphere, he’s pretty inexpensive. He’s making $3.8MM this 12 months and $5MM plus incentives subsequent 12 months, with one other season of arbitration management past that. That’s probably enticing for the Yankees since they’re set to be third-time payors of the aggressive steadiness tax and nicely excessive threshold, which means any cash they add to their ledger comes with a 110% tax hit.
Regardless of all that spending, their infield is in tough form. Ben Rice is doing a satisfactory job protecting for the injured Anthony Rizzo at first base, however each second baseman Gleyber Torres and shortstop Anthony Volpe have been subpar on the plate this 12 months.
DJ LeMahieu missed the primary two months of the season as a result of a proper foot contusion and has been terrible since been reinstated. Whereas enjoying often at third base, he’s hitting .183/.275/.229 this 12 months for a wRC+ of simply 52. He solely has a .217 batting common on balls in play however he’s additionally not clobbering the ball, with most of his Statcast metrics trending down relative to his earlier ranges.
India has solely ever performed second base in his main league profession, although he was nearly moved right into a utility function this 12 months. The Reds graduated a lot of prospects final 12 months, together with infielders Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marté. The membership then added to that group by signing free agent Jeimer Candelario. With India coming off these two tough seasons, he was going to be pushed into bouncing to first base and left subject and even discovered himself in offseason commerce rumors.
However that calculation shortly modified when Marté obtained an 80-game PED suspension and McLain required shoulder surgical procedure. That put India again because the membership’s on a regular basis second baseman and it’s nonetheless the one place he’s ever performed on the large league stage.
Except the Yankees wish to get artistic, then buying India would seemingly reduce into the enjoying time of Torres greater than anybody else. There could be some logic to that each from the angle of 2024 and likewise past, as Torres is an impending free agent whereas India has a few years of extra membership management. Torres can be slashing simply .230/.307/.351 for a wRC+ of 90 this 12 months with subpar defensive grades as nicely. The designated hitter slot is presently open with Giancarlo Stanton on the injured listing, so it’s theoretically doable for India and Torres to be in the identical lineup, however Stanton might be again quickly and the Yanks have been placing Aaron Decide in there pretty often with Stanton out.
Although he could match with the Yankees, there’s no assure he’s accessible. As Castillo reported, the Reds are nonetheless within the playoff race and will not wish to promote. As of this writing, they’re 49-53 and simply 4 video games away from a playoff spot within the Nationwide League. President of baseball operations Nick Krall lately recommended that the membership had not but made agency choices about its deadline method.
Cincinnati would naturally desire to hold onto India in the event that they’re nonetheless making an attempt to climb again into the race, however he might be a logical commerce candidate in the event that they fall out of issues. Marte has since returned from his suspension and McLain might return from his damage absence earlier than the season is out. Although India has gotten again on monitor this 12 months, the membership might theoretically have an infield mixture of Marté, De La Cruz, McLain, Candelario and Christian Encarnacion-Strand by subsequent 12 months, with Spencer Steer additionally within the combine. Candelario is signed to a three-year, $45MM deal that he’s not presently enjoying as much as. The others in that group are nonetheless of their pre-arbitration years and more likely to be considered as long-term constructing blocks by the Reds, which might have India trying like an odd man out once more.
But when the Reds dangle onto India, the Yankees will face a problem to find different infield upgrades, one thing that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco lately explored in a put up for Entrance Workplace subscribers. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is probably accessible however he would include danger as he has been primarily enjoying within the outfield in latest seasons. The Yanks have been linked to him earlier than however Castillo’s report provides that the Yankees have some considerations about how he would slot in their clubhouse. Isaac Paredes or Brandon Lowe of the Rays might be good suits however large trades between divisional rivals are uncommon. Different prospects embrace Luis Rengifo of the Angels and Nico Hoerner of the Cubs, although it’s unclear if these golf equipment are prepared to half with these gamers.
