Brady Singer returns to familiar place but in unfamiliar role: facing the Royals
Reds pitcher Brady Singer tuned into a Royals game this past weekend and saw KC first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino do something out of the ordinary.
Square to bunt.
Singer grabbed his phone and texted Pasquantino: “What the heck are you doing?”
Pasquantino has one career sacrifice bunt, so the question wasn’t out of left field. But it may seem strange that an opposing player would make such an inquiry.
The thing is, Singer knows Pasquantino well — the two were teammates in Kansas City for two-plus seasons.
Singer laughed as he recalled the text but added he would love for Pasquantino to bunt Tuesday. That’s when Singer will be on the mound for the Reds at Kauffman Stadium, facing his former team for the first time since being traded to Cincinnati in November.
Speaking to a flock of reporters in the visiting team’s dugout Monday at Kauffman Stadium, Singer was decked out in red, a stark contrast to the Royal blue he wore for so many years.
“It’s definitely a little weird being in this dugout,” Singer admitted. “I’m used to being over there, but just really cool. I love this stadium. First of all, it’s really cool to call it home for a while, and just being back here kind of floods in a lot of memories and some really cool things that happened.
“Spent a lot of time here. I was drafted here. I think it was like seven years ago. I feel like I’m getting old now. But just really cool to be back and see everybody, and get to talk to the guys over there.”
Not only was Singer the Royals’ first round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, he made his big-league debut for KC two years later. And he was married in 2022 in Missouri: His wife, Tori, gave birth to their son, Beau, in nearby Shawnee.
That’s a lot of off-the-field highlights, but Singer also cherishes the ones he made on the field with the Royals.
“The playoffs last year was something that was really cool, just for all the fans to come back and something that we tried really hard for quite a bit of years,” he said. “And to give them that, the fans filled in the stadium and how loud it was.
“That atmosphere was really, really cool.“
The Royals reached the 2024 MLB postseason after an eight-year absence, and Singer had a 3.71 ERA in 32 starts a year ago.
Singer, who still wears No. 51, also had career bests in strikeouts (170) and innings pitched (179 2/3).
“I love Brady. Everything he was about his family, the competitiveness, the way he worked,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He’s one of the guys that between starts I’ve never seen someone more driven to get better for the next start than he was.
“He wasn’t always happy with his performance on the field at times, especially the ‘23 season, but he threw a ton of huge innings for us last year (to) where there’s no way we were in the postseason without Brady.”
Facing the Royals
On Tuesday night, Singer will toe the slab for his 69th career start at Kauffman Stadium.
While admitting it was difficult to be traded by the only professional franchise he had known, Brady said he’s looking forward to facing his friends. He still texts many of them on a regular basis, including Pasquantino.
Before the season, Brady knew the Reds would play at Kauffman Stadium and he was eager to have the chance to pitch again in KC.
“I was hoping to, first of all, because it’s a massive ballpark,” Singer said. “But I was really excited to come here and pitch and enjoy the fans and see all of them. And get to pitch against the guys, too.
“I got to watch them every night. And to pitch against them, it’s gonna be really cool, obviously, really good team. I got to watch them up close for quite a while.”
The only downside for Singer might be figuring out how he’ll get them out. Unless, of course, Pasquantino decides to bunt.
Singer, who has a 2-3 record and 5.71 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings pitched, is impressed with this season’s Royals lineup, especially shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
“Pretty good team over there,” Singer said. “I don’t want to face any of them. I was talking to Vinnie the other day. I’m like, ‘I don’t even know what to do here.’ Scouting him is weird, right?
“And I did a scouting on Bobby. And I’m like, hope for the best. He’s one of the best players in the game. So it’s really cool to be able to face him.”
Cool. But Singer will do everything he can to get Witt and his teammates out.
“I’m still here to do a job, to win a game,” Singer said. “So I’m gonna put the emotions on the back burner and enjoy it obviously today, but tomorrow we’re going to work and we’re going to win a game.”
This story was originally published May 26, 2025 at 3:24 PM.
