Royals 26-Year-Old Slugger Sounds Off On First Attempt At Major Position Change
Coming into the 2025 season, the Kansas City Royals recognized that they had two reliable second basemen on their depth chart and no reliable left fielders.
After trading for Jonathan India from the Cincinnati Reds, the Royals solved one problem by adding a leadoff hitter in front of Bobby Witt Jr. But one might have rightfully observed that Kansas City already had a solid second baseman in Michael Massey, so India might be relegated to designated hitter duties.
However, most teams don't like to install someone in the DH role full-time unless they're elite hitters. And India, though he's a former Rookie of the Year and put up a solid 105 OPS+ last season, is far from elite.
So instead, the Royals have been trying out both India and Massey in left field so far this spring, with hopes that at least one of the two can adapt well enough to the role to play there on a part-time basis. India had already been out there a couple times, but Massey got his first crack on Tuesday.
After a relatively productive outing on defense that included a pair of catches and a slightly bad route on a double by the Texas Rangers' Josh Smith, Massey spoke about his experience so far with learning his new potential position.
“A little different being out there,” Massey said, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. “I haven’t played out there since I was a kid. But just seeing the ball and getting reps, I feel like it’s going to be really good for me. … I’m excited. Any way I can help the team is what I’m trying to do. It’s a good challenge.”
Massey admittedly struggled with the side-spin on Smith's double, something that can take some getting used to and is hard to practice without a live hitter in the batter's box.
“Natural reaction is to break left, and then by the time you look up again, with the spin, it’s 10 feet to your right," Massey said. "So just need to see that ball more, get better reads. Maybe my first reaction is to break right instead of break left right away. That’s just reps.”
It's still early in spring, but the Royals are asking a lot of both Massey and India to play a capable left field, especially in spacious Kauffman Stadium. It will be a massive boost to the team if either of them can figure it out.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org