According to sources, the Cincinnati Reds and infielder Jonathan India are heading to arbitration over a $800,000 disparity.
According to Gordan Wittemeyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer:
India, represented by agent Scott Boras, filed a salary of $4 million, while the Reds filed for $3.2 million. After each side presents their case in a hearing, a three-person arbitration panel must decide which of the two will be India’s 2024 salary.
It’s India’s first winter of arbitration eligibility, and the failure to reach an agreement with the club comes less than six months after the 2021 Rookie of the Year was caught off guard by transfer rumors surrounding his name.
Despite the trade rumors involving India, he has not yet relocated. The Reds have a surplus of infielders, which sparked the speculations, but they appear content to make it work at this point in the winter.
India’s 27-year-old earned the Rookie of the Year award in 2021, but has not been as successful in subsequent years. In 2021, he hit.269 with 21 home runs and had an on-base percentage of.376. In 2022, he played only 103 games, hitting.249 with 10 home runs. He appeared in 119 games this year, hitting.244 with an on-base percentage of.338. He had seventeen home runs.
If India sticks with the Reds, he is likely to be part of a very good team. Cincinnati finished 82-80 last season and missed the playoffs, but with some of baseball’s top young talent, they’ll be a popular pick heading into 2024.
