The Cincinnati Reds may be approaching a crossroads with their best player and unquestionable leader, Jonathan India. With top prospect Elly De La Cruz nearing his first call-up to the big leagues, the Reds may see it in their best interest to move on from India.

India understands that the Reds have hard decisions to make and doesn't appear to be taking the possibility of losing his spot in the lineup personally.

“It’s part of the game. There are always guys behind you, always. If I just play well, it won’t matter. That’s all I can do, play my best and make the decision tough for them,” India said. “If it comes, when it comes, I’ll see what happens. All I can do right now is stay present, play my position, play hard for my team, try to win ballgames, that’s it.”

India, the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year, is having a quality bounce-back season after an injury-riddled 2022. He has a .816 OPS with 20 extra-base hits and 44 runs scored, the fourth most in Major League Baseball.

Why then are the Reds pondering a move for India? It's because De La Cruz has the potential to be a perennial all-star. A consensus top-five prospect in baseball at the moment, De La Cruz is tearing the cover off the ball in Triple-A. He has a 1.039 OPS, 23 extra-base hits (including 10 home runs) and nine steals in 32 games this season.

Add in the fact that fellow infield prospect Matt McLain is scorching hot to begin his Reds career and the picture continues to get cloudy for Jonathan India. McLain and De La Cruz both are better defensively than India, which leaves the Reds with a number of problems, albeit good ones. Incredibly, their only solution may be to trade away their best player.