Royals 29-Year-Old Infielder Facing Pressure-Packed Season
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The Kansas City Royals believe in second chances, and that's just what they granted second baseman Jonathan India this year.
Last spring, India was the Royals' projected leadoff hitter in front of Bobby Witt Jr. Now, having struggled mightily in year one, he can put any thoughts of earning that duty early in the season aside. In fact, he's somewhat lucky to still be on the roster.
Heading into his final year before free agency, many identified India as a non-tender candidate, as the arbitration system was likely to reward him a larger salary than his play last year would have earned him as a free agent. However, Kansas City showed faith by tendering India an $8 million contract to avoid arbitration.
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India has to bounce back quickly
To put things succinctly, it's a pressure cooker of a spring for India. On Monday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com identified the 29-year-old as the player on the roster with "the most to prove" of anyone this spring.
"India’s struggles in 2025 are well documented, amplified by the fact that the Royals acquired him to be an on-base leadoff man for them and he finished the year with career lows in batting average (.233), on-base percentage (.323) and slugging percentage (.346)," Rogers wrote.
"The Royals still tendered him a contract and agreed to an $8 million deal to avoid arbitration, staking their belief in a bounce-back year for the 29-year-old. The second base job is his to lose, but it’s still a prove-it year for India, not just to put his first season with the Royals behind him, but also because he’ll be a free agent at season’s end."
India's defense at second base was also quite poor last year, which has typically been the case throughout his five years, the first four of which came with the Cincinnati Reds.
The Royals have to be feeling the pressure for India to deliver and prove they made the right move keeping him around. But India arguably has the much tougher task, because he's got to try and salvage some value before he heads to the open market.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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