Jonathan India, Michael Massey, & The Fan Narrative

To talk about Michael Massey’s trajectory over the past few years requires us to look for a moment at the story we’ve been telling about Jonathan India.

The Jonathan India for Brady Singer trade in November 2024 was made to fill a very specific need: The Royals, at the time, were desperate for a leadoff hitter. In a 2024 when many things went right, the leadoff spot included a rotating cast of characters with below-average cumulative production. They tried Maikel Garcia, Garrett Hampson, Massey, Nick Loftin, and Tommy Pham there. They even slotted Freddy Fermin into leadoff for a couple of games.

While the 2025 rallying cry for improvement was “No offense from our outfield! No offense from our outfield,” the 2024 cry was frequently “No offense leading off!” The slashline for the leadoff spot was .228/.270/.334 in 2024 and ranked dead-last across MLB in OBP.

So, coming off a 2024 season when starting pitching was a bright spot, the Royals dealt a homegrown starting pitcher in Singer to bring in a leadoff hitter in India. Defensively? Kansas City didn’t need a second baseman; they needed a leadoff hitter. And the philosophy on defensive positioning was, “We’ll try guys in different spots. We’ll figure it out.”

And as we all know now, the 2025 season chugged along, and Jonathan India didn’t shine on either offense or defense. He wasn’t the leadoff hitter fans hoped to see, and he wasn’t even leading off anymore by the end of the season. He hit a career-low .233/.323/.346.

But one thing that stands out about this entire scenario is how much grace India was granted following a poor season. Everyone was quick to offer excuses for why he didn’t have a great first year as a Royal: He was joining a new team, he was learning new positions as the club tried him out at third base and in left field, and he was dealing with a host of minor injuries. He was out of sync. He wasn’t himself. He didn’t have the stability he needed. That was the narrative. The thinking to start 2026 was that with the stability of moving back consistently to second base, he’d find himself again.

What’s so interesting about this story we’ve told about Jonathan India is that it feels very different from the story we’ve told about Michael Massey, even though, I’d argue, their circumstances aren’t all that dissimilar. 

Massey had a good 2024. Yes, he was out quite a bit with injuries. And, yes, one of those was his recurring lower back injury that might flare up again at any moment. But in a year when the Royals made the playoffs, Massey was a solid member of the team when healthy, offensively and defensively. Across 100 games, he accumulated 1.5 fWAR, was an above-average fielder, and slashed .259/.449/.743 with an OPS+ of 108. 

It was only because the front office brought India into the fold that Massey’s role on the team went through a big shake-up. While trying the new “leadoff hitter” in various spots on the field, Massey too was moved around between second, left field, and the bench. And then? He didn’t have a great year. He didn’t contribute nearly as much as he did in 2024. And the narrative seemed to be: Massey’s just not very good.

But one thing I haven’t been able to shake in watching this play out and reading/hearing about Massey’s role is that no one seems to grant him the same grace as India. But let’s think about what really happened: Just like India, Massey was asked to learn new positions. He was, by some accounts, demoted away from his natural position at second to make way for a new guy, and that was after he’d had a good year. He was thrown out of sync, too, and essentially lost his job as the everyday second baseman. 

What I want to argue here is that perhaps India has been extended a little too much grace for his lackluster performance and that Massey hasn’t been given enough. Had India never entered the picture, what might Massey have done as the everyday second baseman last year? We’ll never know.

But the moment we find ourselves in presently is that India is dealing with another minor injury, we have a very solid leadoff man now in Garcia, following his breakout season last year, and Massey is, at least for now, the everyday starting second baseman once again. As has been widely reported, he worked a lot on his swing mechanics in the offseason. (I’d posit he was working on his confidence as much as his swing.) He’s a thoughtful player who seems grounded and ready to go. And he’s showing flashes of what made him good in the past. As Mike Gillespie wrote about earlier this week, it’s Massey’s time to seize the moment.

Plus, India becomes a free agent after the 2026 season, while Massey is under team control through 2028. I hope he sticks as the everyday guy at second. Just like everyone said to start this year — that India just needs that consistent stability of his natural position to turn things on — maybe that’s what Massey needs, too. That, and a little grace.