The Royals have reportedly spoken to the Reds about a trade involving Kansas City right-hander Brady Singer and Cincinnati infielder Jonathan India, but that’s just one of multiple pursuits for Royals general manager J.J. Picollo, it seems. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports that while no deals are necessarily close as of this moment, the Royals have also spoken to the Phillies about third baseman Alec Bohm and to the Angels about outfielder Taylor Ward. Like India, both Bohm and Ward are right-handed bats with multiple seasons of club control remaining.
Bohm, 28, was the No. 3 overall pick back in 2018 and has settled in as a regular at third base in Philadelphia over the past four-plus seasons. He’s coming off an uneven 2024 season in which he was one of the game’s most productive hitters in April but followed it with five months of effectively league-average production. On the whole, he turned in a .280/.332/.448 batting line (115 wRC+). Over the past three seasons, Bohm has combined for a .278/.325/.427 slash, demolishing left-handed pitching along the way but producing at a roughly average clip against fellow righties.
Given his excellent bat-to-ball skills — 14.2% strikeout rate in 2024; 15.7% dating back to 2022 — Bohm is a sensible target for a Royals club that places a heavy emphasis on putting the ball in play. Kansas City had baseball’s third-lowest strikeout rate in 2024, and since 2021 only five teams have posted a lower collective strikeout rate than the Royals. Plugging Bohm in as a regular at third base would provide an offensive upgrade over slick-fielding Maikel Garcia, who’s arguably better suited as a utilityman, given his defensive chops.
Speaking of glovework, however, Bohm is something of a mixed bag on that front. The Royals have typically prioritized plus defenders in addition to their affinity for contact-oriented bats. Bohm has typically graded out as a poor defender at the hot corner, but he posted career-best marks in Defensive Runs Saved (0) and Outs Above Average (4) in 2024. If the Royals believe those gains can be sustained, he’d make all the more sense as a trade target.
Bohm is controlled for another two seasons. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $8.1MM in his penultimate year of arbitration eligibility in 2025. It’s a generally reasonable rate that shouldn’t be cumbersome, even for a mid-level payroll club like Kansas City. While the Royals have in-house options at third base (Garcia) and at second base (Michael Massey), their interest in India and Bohm suggests a desire to add at least one bat to that infield mix. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and, of course, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. aren’t going to be displaced, leaving second base or third base as the likely positions to be upgraded.
For the Phillies, trading Bohm wouldn’t be so much about shedding salary or moving on from an unproductive player as it would reimagining an offense that hasn’t gotten them over the hump in recent postseason trips. Bohm has hit well with men on base in recent seasons (hence consecutive 97 RBI campaigns) but offers average power and stark platoon splits. The Phillies, meanwhile, don’t have ample pathways to pursuing upgrades in the lineup. First base (Bryce Harper), shortstop (Trea Turner), designated hitter (Kyle Schwarber), catcher (J.T. Realmuto) and right field (Nick Castellanos) are all manned by expensive veterans. Third base (Bohm), second base (Bryson Stott) and the other two outfield spots (combination of Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas and Austin Hays) are the primary areas where president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski can look to bring about some form of change.
As for Ward, he’s an on-paper trade candidate for an Angels club that just finished dead last in the American League West. However, owner Arte Moreno and GM Perry Minasian have both expressed a desire to put forth a competitive club next winter. Ward, coming off a .246/.323/.426 (111 wRC+) showing in 2024 and a .259/.338/.440 line (118 wRC+) since 2021, is seemingly a part of that vision. Few outsiders see a path to contention for the ’25 Angels, but the team’s actions thus far — trading for Jorge Soler and signing Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Hendricks and Kevin Newman — suggest that they’re more focused on adding than on subtracting.
As MLBTR’s Anthony Franco explored last month, there’s a scenario where the Angels move Ward and still make an effort to compete. Ward could be flipped for rotation help — a potential match with the Royals — or traded for younger talent, with the Angels reallocating his would-be salary to other areas of need. Swartz projects Ward for a $9.2MM salary in 2025, which isn’t unreasonable for a player of his ability but also isn’t a raucous bargain. The Royals could plug Ward into left field, providing a stark upgrade over MJ Melendez, and pair him with defensive standout Kyle Isbel in center and rebound hopeful Hunter Renfroe in right field.
There’s no telling just yet how it’ll all shake out, but it seems Kansas City is quite active on the trade front at the moment. In addition to the bats they’ve targeted, the Royals have received interest from other clubs in each of the aforementioned Garcia, Singer, right-hander Alec Marsh and left-hander Kris Bubic. Picollo and his staff seemingly have plenty of potential concepts to explore, with the end goal of bolstering a currently top-heavy lineup a fairly obvious priority.
Funny I just made a comment on another post about Ward and Bohm.
Heard a trade suggestion to do a one-for-one with them. Take the Royals right out of the mix.
I don’t understand how either India or Bohm can be considered anything but league average or below league average players. For the Royals to trade Singer for either one seems short-sighted.
Bohm does have defensive issues but NOT exactly Dr. StrangeGlove
– 97 RBIs and OBP about .330 the last 2 years.
He’s not really the root of PHI problems.
He made 4M last year and will be age 28.5 by Spring Training
If I was Dombroski I would keep Alec and try to trade Kyle (FA in 2026) or Nick (FA in 2027) Probably would have to send some $
– larger amount included with Castellanos
OR some other creative way to change the team dynamic
Realmuto is still solid but would benefit with more days off
and or use as a DH p/t
On Foul Territory they were saying Bohm supposedly has maturity issues. I expect that’s the main reason he’s on the trading block.
As a reds fan I’d rather keep India than trade him for singer
@Pete’sView,
I agree. It would make more sense for the Royals to keep Singer and sign Bregman as a free agent. Or, they can sign Adames and move him to third. Bregman or Adames will indeed be more expensive than Bohm. But if a team wants to win, sometimes they need to go the extra mile by paying to land a good player.
Absolutely. Both Adames and Bregman are productive players on both sides of the ball. If they both didn’t carry QOs I’d love to have them both on the Giants. (Let Fitzgerald become super utility or play him in left and move Ramos to RF.)
Given their starting pitching, the Royals need to consider the next couple of years as their window of opportunity.
Royals won’t go top of the market. Too risky should it backfire.
Ward and a prospect for Singer?
Who would KC trade for bohm? singer?
idk, I’m just floating out the Angels side of things. Maybe a 3 team deal with The Angels getting Bohm, Phillies getting Singer and Royals getting Ward? Or swapping in a different direction
What would the Phillies do with Singer? They have a full rotation pretty much already. Also Andrew Painter could be ready for spring 2025.
One of the worst ideas ever
This flip flop Singer to the Angels and Ward to the Phils
Suarez is history. Painter is on innings limit. Walker is a head case
DCDude2007
What would the Phillies do with Singer? They have a full rotation pretty much already.
==========================
Are you counting Walker as part of the rotation?
JoeBrady,
I’m simply saying Andrew Painter is likely to go up to the MLB level in time for Opening Day, so Singer would provide some rotational depth for the Phils.
What team wouldn’t be interested in the 2024 NL All-Star third-baseman who played brilliantly, offensively and defensively, for most of the season, but played poorly in the brief playoffs because of a significant hand injury? Given David Dombrowski’s ability to keep his cards close to the vest and never discuss potential trades publicly, the Bohm trade rumors are probably all crust and no filling. The way I see things, Bohm will probably be one of the very few players on the Phils’ current roster to play on the next Phillies world championship team. I don’t see Schwarber being a part of that team, nor the manager Thomson. What’s more, I don’t see Harper retiring in a Phillies uniform. After a few more years of not winning the world series, I see Harper asking to be traded to the Athletics when they start playing in Las Vegas.
@on…
You see a lot of things I don’t see. Bohm is gone. Outta here. Harper is Philly Phorever.
I expect Bohm and Ward both to be traded as well as India potentially. They could give up a few depth arms (Singer, Bubic, and Marsh all work here) and get Bohm, Ward, or India in return. The Angels need pitching, and Cincinnati could also use a veteran arm. However IMO Bohm is less likely to be traded than India or Ward.
those aren’t really depth arms. two of those pitchers were the bullpen, one was a starter for a while and then got moved to the bullpen and one came back from Tommy John and was in the bullpen because of that. The only pitching depth is in the minors, not on the 40 man.
Still, Cincinnati and LA need pitching help. If the Royals want any of Ward, Bohm, or India, they will more than likely need to move one of those three arms.
Brady Singer would slot beautifully into those two’s rotations. Uses a sinker-slider combo most of the time and pitched pretty well with a 3.7 ERA.
Kris Bubic had a 2.67 ERA this year and was decent for a left-hander. 39 strikeouts, 1.02 WHIP, and a mostly four seam-slider combination. Could return to the rotation or stay in the bullpen after his postseason performance.
And finally, Alec Marsh had a 4.5 ERA this year, yes, but struck out 123 batters and made 25 starts. Most used pitches are four seam, slider, and curve.
Royals once again could look to the trade market or to free agency to stabilize the ‘pen. Somebody like Jeff Hoffman, etc. might be a nice addition, although Hunter Harvey and Erceg are locked into the 8th and 9th.
Angels and Reds both trying to increase payroll a bit while also adding veterans to young teams.
My final thought: KC trades for India and sends Brady Singer back to Cincinnati. He’d be nice in a staff with Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Nick Martinez, etc. and could be a reliable fifth option on a fairly young staff.
Ward might go to Cincinnati and maybe they send some prospects back to LA.
Bohm is the winner of the Maikel Franco award. Or in other words, so meh.
Do plays third if Alec is moved
Who. Sorry for the error
That’s what I was thinking. Sosa? Maybe Otto Kemp breaks camp? Other than that, I they would need to sign a free agent.
Sosa – pass. But man I have been hearing @Otto Kemp since @june and then his fall league stats, gonna grab a beer and do a mini deep dive.. Maybe you have something there?
There is always WW (who was a ss) and Clemens….
Then Phillies sign Bregman?
I don’t see Bregman being the Bohm backfill answer here, I’d rather see that money spent on an impact CF.
I think you can slot in Sosa at 3rd and give him a chance to play everyday, he did great in Turners absence this year before going back to a utility role. Give him 3B as his job to lose, with Wilson and Clemens as the backup for him and Stott.
Sosa has been exposed when he starts and for some reason does not handle 3rd well. As for his hitting, his bb/k rates are abysmal (’22-’24). I still think he should start a couple times a week, but handing him the 3b job?
I do agree w/ you about an impact OF bat, then you could potentially punt 3b for a year.
Sosa shouldn’t be an everyday player for a team that wants to contend.
Keep Bohm, and improve the offense by signing an outfielder who hits better than him.
I would keep Bohm if I were DD, but Bohm/Singer matches up pretty well.
I’ll restate it: Royals are nuts if they deal Singer for Bohm. They can do better than that.