After the Cincinnati Reds fired manager David Bell, former Rookie of the Year Jonathan India told the Cincinnati Enquirer that the team should make bigger changes this offseason.
Before the first game since Bell’s dismissal late Sunday night, India said the Reds “need to make a move.”
“We’re tired of losing,” India told Enquirer reporter Charlie Goldsmith in an exclusive Q&A before Tuesday’s 6-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. “It’s the same thing every year here. We just float around .500 and try to make the push but we just don’t have enough.”
India won the National League Rookie of the Year in 2021, the year after the team’s last playoff appearance. The Reds were in playoff contention until the last week of the season in his rookie year. Then Nick Castellanos opted out of the remaining years of his contract, and the team began selling off veteran players including then-All-Star Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suárez and Sonny Gray before trading pitchers Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle.
The Reds made a surprising playoff push in 2023 and spent more than $100 million this offseason, adding veterans Jeimer Candelario, Nick Martinez and Frankie Montas, among others. The Reds underachieved in 2024 — Tuesday’s loss in Cleveland guaranteed a losing record on the season, while the Guardians celebrated clinching a first-round bye with the victory.
“Who knows if I’ll be here next year. Who knows if (Tyler) Stephenson will be here. We’re running out of time,” India told Goldsmith. “We were the young core. Then, we added Elly and so many guys. They need to make moves. I want to win. Everyone wants to win. That’s the bottom line. We know we can. There are certain things that I think should happen.”
When asked whether the “moves” he alluded to meant spending money, he said, “Yeah, it could be. Yeah. There’s a certain thing we need to go get.”
India, 27, is hitting .247/.354/.394 with 15 home runs for the Reds this season and is considered one of the team’s leaders. India, the team’s everyday second baseman since Opening Day of his rookie year, was expected to move aside for Matt McLain this season, but McLain, a second-year player, suffered a shoulder injury requiring surgery this spring and has not played at all, leaving India at second base.
India signed a two-year, $8.8 million contract before the season, avoiding arbitration. He is under team control through the 2026 season.
(File photo: Brett Davis / USA Today)
