RUMOR: Reds willing to trade Jonathan India, should Tigers get involved?

The Cincinnati Reds are an up-and-coming team that is looking for starting pitching help. The Detroit Tigers have some that could be of interest to them. And now, rumor has it they could be willing to part with a former NL Rookie of the Year in orde to get it.

The Red are reportedly willing to trade 2B Jonathan India in exchange for young, controllable starting pitching. While the Tigers have plenty of that, they likely aren't willing to part with any of them. However, if the Reds would be willing to open up the checkbook, a trade involving Eduardo Rodriguez and India wouldn't be out of the cards.

E-rod is 30, so he isn't exactly young. But if Cincy were to trade for him with the intent of giving him an extension, he could be controllable.

All that being said, that doesn't seem likely. I doubt the Reds would trade India for a rental. So, we'd have to look at other options, the most likely of which would be Matt Manning or Tarik Skubal. The reason I say most likely is because that's who the Reds would likely be interested in.

I'm willing to listen on Manning. He's looked much better when healthy this season, but he's had a lot of injury issues throughout his career. However, he's not a free agent until 2028. That's four and a half years of control for a 25-year-old with prospect pedigree.

It's a similar situation for India, albeit with one less year of control. He was the fifth overall pick in 2018, the same year the Tigers took Casey Mize 1:1. After winning the NL Rookie of the Year in 2021, he struggled with injuries and inconsistency last season. This year, he's been more like the 2021 version of himself, slashing .251/.338/.411 with 14 home runs, a 99 wRC+, and a 1.3 fWAR.

One thing to note is he has a .339 xWOBA, which we know is a stat this front office values, since that's basically the reason they keep trotting Andy Ibanez out there. There's reason to believe the Tigers would have interest based on that alone.

As far as Skubal is concerned, I would have to be wowed by an offer to move him. He's an ace-level pitcher when he's right and healthy. Obviously he's had his fair share of injury issues as well, but he's just flat out unhittable when he's on. I would need a king's ransom in return to trade Tarik Skubal.

This is an interesting trade option to explore. India would help fill the Tigers need at either second base or third base, but do they have what it takes to pry him from the Reds? It seems unlikely, but you never know.