Reds are willing to trade Jonathan India at the trade deadline

The Cincinnati Reds have reportedly told teams that they would be willing to trade Jonathan India according to two MLb.com’s Mark Feinsand. The Reds are looking for a starting pitcher and it seems that they are looking for one that has more than a little team control remaining before they would reach free agency.

After winning the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year, Jonathan India’s not been able to replicate his numbers he put up that season. In 2022 he battled injuries throughout the season and saw a 130 point drop in his OPS. This season he’s rebounded a little bit in the power department, which has helped bump his line up to .251/.338/.411 on the year – a jump of 44 points of OPS over last season. He’s also gotten back to stealing bases at a good rate. After going 3-for-7 in 2022 he has gone 12-for-14 this year.

While the decline in production could be a part of the reason that the club is willing to trade Jonathan India, the other reason is likely that Cincinnati simply has a lot of other options at the positions that India has and can play, and at least right now, they’re all playing better than he is. If you look at second base, then rookie Matt McLain is looking like a better option there. He’s hitting better now than India hit as a rookie and much better than India’s hitting today. And he’s a much better defender. If you were to slide India back over to third base, where he played in the minor leagues at times and college, then you’ve got options with Elly De La Cruz, Spencer Steer, or Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the big leagues, and Noelvi Marte down in Triple-A.

There’s still a week remaining before the trade deadline is upon us. We’re still, what seems like, several weeks if not a month away before the Reds would get back Hunter Greene, and then Nick Lodolo. That’s about half of what’s remaining in the 2023 season. Finding someone reliable to replace Luke Weaver, who now has an ERA of 7.20 through 17 starts, could be big down the stretch as the team fights for a playoff spot.

Maybe the Reds can’t find a trade partner that would be interested in India because they also have a bunch of infielders. Cincinnati also has a strong farm system – even with all of the call ups this year – and could potentially find a trade partner utilizing some of the players down on the farm to land the starting pitcher that they are looking for.