The 2017 University of Florida baseball team made history by securing the school’s first-ever College World Series title, with key contributions from future Cincinnati Reds players Jonathan India and Mark Koloszvary.
While the team’s position players were impressive, it also boasted a trio of pitchers—Jackson Kowar, Alex Faedo, and Brady Singer—who would all go on to reach the major leagues. Singer, in particular, would join India as a first-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, with India selected 3rd overall by the Reds and Singer picked 18th overall by the Kansas City Royals.
This background sets the stage for an interesting connection between India and Singer, who were traded for each other on Friday night, with former Milwaukee Brewer Joey Wiemer also heading to Kansas City as part of the deal. The news was reported by Anne Rogers of MLB.com on Bluesky.
As the Reds continued to get younger across their deep and talented infield, Jonathan India, who is set to earn $5 million in his penultimate year of team control, always seemed like a potential trade candidate despite his solid on-base skills at the top of the lineup. His defense was inconsistent at best, and he had missed significant time due to leg injuries. Combined with the rise of younger (and cheaper) infield competition, it seemed likely that the rebuilding Reds would have moved him earlier if not for a string of injuries and suspensions affecting the rest of their roster.
With Matt McLain seemingly healthy and Elly De La Cruz firmly established at shortstop, India found himself on the trade block once again. The Reds were clearly in need of rotation help after injuries disrupted their starting pitching late last season. Brandon Williamson and Julian Aguiar are both recovering from Tommy John surgery and are out for 2025, while Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Graham Ashcraft, and Andrew Abbott all spent extended time on the injured list.
Enter Brady Singer, who will join the Reds to help solidify their rotation. In the 2024 season, he set career highs in both innings pitched (179.2) and strikeouts (170), posting a solid 3.71 ERA. Known for his ability to induce groundballs, Singer likely benefited from the spacious confines of Kauffman Stadium. How he will adapt to Great American Ball Park (GABP) remains to be seen, but with over 150 innings pitched in three of the past four seasons, he will provide much-needed stability and durability to a Reds rotation that has lacked consistency. Even Nick Martinez, who accepted the Reds’ Qualifying Offer, has never surpassed the 142.1 innings he pitched last year in a big league season.
Singer is set to earn around $8 million this year, which is also his penultimate year of team control.
This deal is becoming increasingly rare in the modern game, as it doesn’t involve dumping an established big leaguer for prospects or salary relief. Instead, the Royals needed on-base ability to complement their power hitters in the middle of the lineup and had surplus pitching to trade, while the Reds boasted middle-infield depth and a glaring need for pitching. While there’s room for debate about whether India is “better” than Singer, both teams likely believe their rosters are stronger today than they were yesterday.
