Jonathan

India

India will miss the final five months of the season after undergoing a labral repair surgery on his left shoulder. The versatile 29-year-old hit the shelf with a shoulder subluxation last week, but apparently additional imaging turned up a fracture that required surgery. He should be a full-go for next spring. His absence means Nick Loftin is going to stick around in a bench role until further notice.

The encouraging news here is that India didn’t suffer a complete dislocation, but he’s going to be on the shelf for a couple weeks. The versatile 29-year-old has played sparingly for the Royals over the past couple weeks ever since Michael Massey came back from the injured list.

Michael Massey will get his second start of the season against RHP Davis Martin. This appears to just be a routine day off for India, as Massey’s first start after coming off IL was actually in left field.

Michael Massey was activated from the injured list before the game, so that’s a little pressure on India, though he could play other positions when the Royals want to start Massey. India is 6-for-18 with two homers and eight RBI in five games this month after going 1-for-10 in April.

India blew this one wide open with a sixth-inning slam off Twins reliever Zak Kent to give Kansas City a 12-1 lead at the time. It was his first big fly of the season. The versatile 29-year-old has started four of five games at second base to open the season with Michael Massey (calf) on the injured list.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro deemed India’s early exit as precautionary while speaking to reporters after the contest. The 29-year-old utility specialist will undergo further evaluation to determine the severity of the issue later this weekend. There should be some additional clarity shortly but it doesn’t sound like a major concern.

India is getting to lead off for a Royals team that’s been robbed of its top five hitters by the WBC and is off to a 4-for-13 start with five walks in seven games. He seems likely to open up batting sixth in the regular season, but there might be a scenario in which he returns to the leadoff spot and Maikel Garcia bats cleanup, which is where he finished last year.

Garcia spent a lot of time hitting cleanup down the stretch last season, but he’s led off in all three of his appearances this spring, suggesting that the Royals are leaning towards employing him there in the regular season. That would give Salvador Perez’s stock a little boost, since he’d move up from fifth to fourth. Jonathan India, who opened up in the leadoff spot last year, would hit in the bottom half of the order if Garcia leads off, making him a weaker bet as a late-round, bounce-back option.

A candidate to be non-tendered on Friday, India will now return to the Royals for a second season. He had a miserable 2025 in his debut with the club, slashing just .233/.323/.346 with nine homers and 45 RBI in 567 plate appearances.

India’s three-run homer was the entirety of the offense for the Royals on Friday. In his first season with Kansas City, the former first-round selection has slashed .234/.324/.347 while picking up nine homer in the process. It’s fair to say that India has not done enough to be guaranteed a starting role in 2026.