The Yankees have issues on their infield and have interest in second baseman Jonathan India of the Reds, reports Jorge Castillo of ESPN. However, Castillo cautions that the Reds aren’t expected to make India available unless they fall out of the playoff race in the next week.
India, 27, is having a resurgent season after a couple of rough campaigns. He has eight home runs this year and is drawing walks in 12.7% of his plate appearances while only striking out 19.7% of the time. His .275/.377/.420 batting line translates to a 123 wRC+, indicating he’s been 23% better than league average at the plate overall.
On top of his offensive contributions, he has stolen nine bases in 10 tries. His second base defense hasn’t been well regarded in his career but is better this year, at least by one metric. Defensive Runs Saved still hates him, with a grade of -8 so far this season, but Outs Above Average has him at +1. Since he has -22 OAA in his career, that’s a notable improvement.
At least in terms of the offense, it’s a return to his Rookie of the Year form. He got that trophy in 2021 after he hit 21 home runs and slashed .269/.376/.459 for a wRC+ of 122 while also stealing 12 bases. As mentioned, the past two seasons have been a struggle. India spent time on the injured list due to a right hamstring injury in 2022 and left foot plantar fasciitis in 2023 as he hit a combined .246/.333/.394 in those two campaigns for a 98 wRC+.
Now that he’s back in good form, it’s understandable that the Yankees would want him. In addition to his skills on the field, he’s fairly affordable. He’s making $3.8M this year and $5M plus incentives next year, with another season of arbitration control beyond that. That’s likely attractive for the Yankees since they are set to be third-time payors of the competitive-balance tax and well over the top threshold, meaning any money they add to their ledger comes with a 110% tax hit.
Despite all that spending, their infield is in rough shape. Ben Rice is doing a passable job covering for the injured Anthony Rizzo at first base, but both second baseman Gleyber Torres and shortstop Anthony Volpe have been subpar at the plate this year.
DJ LeMahieu missed the first two months of the season due to a right foot contusion and has been awful since been reinstated. While playing regularly at third base, he is hitting .183/.275/.229 this year for a wRC+ of just 52. He only has a .217 batting average on balls in play but he’s also not clobbering the ball, with most of his Statcast metrics trending down relative to his previous levels.
India has only ever played second base in his major league career, though he was almost moved into a utility role this year. The Reds graduated a large number of prospects last year, including infielders Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marté. The club then added to that group by signing free agent Jeimer Candelario. With India coming off those two rough seasons, he was going to be pushed into bouncing to first base and left field and even found himself in offseason trade rumors.
But that calculation quickly changed when Marté received an 80-game PED suspension and McLain required shoulder surgery. That put India back as the club’s everyday second baseman, and it’s still the only position he’s ever played at the big league level.
Unless the Yankees want to get creative, then acquiring India would seemingly cut into the playing time of Torres more than anyone else. There would be some logic to that both from the perspective of 2024 and also beyond, as Torres is an impending free agent while India has a couple of years of additional club control. Torres is also slashing just .230/.307/.351 for a wRC+ of 90 this year with subpar defensive grades as well. The designated hitter slot is currently open with Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list, so it’s theoretically possible for India and Torres to be in the same lineup, but Stanton could be back soon and the Yanks have been putting Aaron Judge in there fairly regularly with Stanton out.
Though he may fit with the Yankees, there’s no guarantee he’s available. As Castillo reported, the Reds are still in the playoff race and may not want to sell. As of this writing, they are 49-53 and just four games away from a playoff spot in the National League. President of baseball operations Nick Krall recently suggested that the club had not yet made firm decisions about its deadline approach.
Cincinnati would naturally prefer to hang onto India if they’re still trying to climb back into the race, but he could be a logical trade candidate if they fall out of things. Marte has since returned from his suspension and McLain could return from his injury absence before the season is out. Although India has gotten back on track this year, the club could theoretically have an infield mix of Marté, De La Cruz, McLain, Candelario and Christian Encarnacion-Strand by next year, with Spencer Steer also in the mix. Candelario is signed to a three-year, $45M deal that he’s not currently playing up to. The others in that group are still in their pre-arbitration years and likely to be viewed as long-term building blocks by the Reds, which could have India looking like an odd man out again.
But if the Reds hang onto India, the Yankees will face a challenge in finding other infield upgrades, something that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently explored in a post for Front Office subscribers. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is perhaps available but he would come with risk as he has been primarily playing in the outfield in recent seasons. The Yanks have been connected to him before, but Castillo’s report adds that the Yankees have some concerns about how he would fit in their clubhouse. Isaac Paredes or Brandon Lowe of the Rays could be good fits, but big trades between divisional rivals are rare. Other possibilities include Luis Rengifo of the Angels and Nico Hoerner of the Cubs, though it’s unclear if those clubs are willing to part with those players.
