The Yankees have points on their infield and have curiosity in second baseman Jonathan India of the Reds, reviews Jorge Castillo of ESPN. Nonetheless, Castillo cautions that the Reds aren’t anticipated to make India obtainable except 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 placing 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 high of his offensive contributions, he has stolen 9 bases in ten tries. His second base protection hasn’t been effectively regarded in his profession however is best this 12 months, at the very least by one metric. Defensive Runs Saved nonetheless hates him, with a grade of -8 to date 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 obtained 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 battle. India frolicked on the injured listing resulting from a proper hamstring harm 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 sector, 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 possible engaging for the Yankees since they’re set to be third-time payors of the aggressive stability tax and effectively 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 overlaying 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 resulting from a proper foot contusion and has been terrible since been reinstated. Whereas taking part in repeatedly 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 position 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 acquired 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 massive league degree.
Until the Yankees wish to get inventive, then buying India would seemingly minimize into the taking part in time of Torres greater than anybody else. There can be some logic to that each from the attitude of 2024 and in addition 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 effectively. The designated hitter slot is at present open with Giancarlo Stanton on the injured listing, so it’s theoretically attainable for India and Torres to be in the identical lineup, however Stanton could possibly be again quickly and the Yanks have been placing Aaron Choose in there pretty repeatedly with Stanton out.
Although he could match with the Yankees, there’s no assure he’s obtainable. As Castillo reported, the Reds are nonetheless within the playoff race and should 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 not too long ago instructed that the membership had not but made agency selections about its deadline method.
Cincinnati would naturally choose to hold onto India in the event that they’re nonetheless attempting to climb again into the race, however he could possibly be a logical commerce candidate in the event that they fall out of issues. Marte has since returned from his suspension and McLain may return from his harm absence earlier than the season is out. Although India has gotten again on observe this 12 months, the membership may 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 at present taking part in 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 may have India wanting 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 not too long ago explored in a publish for Entrance Workplace subscribers. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is probably obtainable however he would include threat as he has been primarily taking part in 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 issues about how he would slot in their clubhouse. Isaac Paredes or Brandon Lowe of the Rays could possibly be good suits however massive trades between divisional rivals are uncommon. Different potentialities 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.
