Singer for India, What's Next?

The Royals find their leadoff hitter.

No one can accuse J.J. Piccolo of being low energy. We haven’t even made it to Thanksgiving, and he’s already making consequential trades in his continuing efforts to build a sustainable winner.

On Nov. 22, Piccolo traded Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer for Reds second baseman Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer. As subscribers to this Substack should know, we’ve been pointing to Singer as the Royals’ most valuable trade chip since the season ended. He’s getting more expensive in arbitration, and he plays a position of strength for the team. So, he’s valuable and expensive-ish … good formula for a trade chip.

Once the Royals extended Michael Wacha, Singer’s exit seemed even more likely, and now he’s gone.

So, let’s take an in depth look at the deal.