Three Trade Market Candidates That Might Be A Fit For The Royals' Kris Bubic

With the holiday season just around the corner, the Royals are in the midst of an important offseason. One where the team desperately needs outfield help, as the team produced one of the worst outfields in the league. General manager JJ Piccolo has stated that they will look at both the free agent and trade markets for options. The Royals have a surplus of pitchers that could interest teams; however, one pitcher has been getting a lot of buzz over the past week or so. It’s Kris Bubic.  

Kris Bubic is coming off his best year of his career with the Royals, posting an 8-7 record and an ERA of 2.55 over 116 1/3 innings. His 3.1 Baseball-Reference WAR was second amongst Royals pitchers, and after posting a 2.48 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and striking out 113 batters while walking only 34, he was named an All-Star. His performance took a dive after the All-Star break as his ERA ballooned to 3.52 in only 7 2/3 innings of work. He was shut down in late July due to a left rotator cuff strain. Although his season was cut short, he looked like a Cy Young candidate and will certainly be at the top of the Royals' rotation. However, he has generated trade buzz over the past week from various teams. Bubic is under team control for one more year, making him a free agent after the 2026 season, and his projected arbitration salary could reach $6 million. If the Royals want to get a solid outfielder, they may have to use Bubic as trade bait to get that. Here are some teams that could be interested in him.  

Chicago Cubs 
The Cubs have lots of rotation depth with veterans like Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon, and prospects like Ben Brown and Cade Horton. However, their pitchers struggled to generate swings and misses, posting a league-average FIP of 4.16 and ranking among the bottom four teams in strikeouts with 1,265. A trade for Bubic could give the team the swing-and-miss they need. With some of their best prospects like Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, and Horton now playing in the big leagues, the farm system has taken a slight step back. They still, however, have five prospects within MLB.com’s top 100 prospects. Outfielder Owen Caissie and catcher Moisés Ballesteros lead a strong farm system that the Royals could look at. 

Boston Red Sox 
Despite having the best team ERA in the American League, Red Sox GM Craig Breslow made it abundantly clear that the team was looking for a number two pitcher to back up Garrett Crochet. Bubic could be that guy. There are rumors that the Royals will trade for Jarren Duran; however, he may be untouchable and difficult to acquire without giving up substantial parts of the roster.  

Potential Trade: Kris Bubic for Jhostynxon García and Greg Weissert 

Why it would work: The Red Sox have a loaded outfield, and it would give Garcia some playing time to show off his highly touted power. Weissert would also give the Royals some support in the bullpen.  

Why it wouldn’t work: The Red Sox have an overloaded rotation with 14 starters currently on their roster, so Bubic wouldn’t fit into their plans. Also, the Red Sox may want to keep Garcia since he’s only 22 and could be the starter if Duran is moved. 

Toronto Blue Jays
Coming off a memorable World Series appearance, this is a massive offseason for the Blue Jays if they want to run it back. Their rotation is an area of need as they had a FIP below league average (4.26) despite being third in the American League in strikeouts (1430). Trey Yesavage was far and away the most impactful prospect as he had a postseason to remember. Other than that, the farm system is promising, with Ricky Tiedemann, Gage Stanifer, Arjun Nimmala, and many others leading the way. 

Potential Trade: Kris Bubic and Javi Vaz for Nathan Lukes and Victor Arias  

Why this would work: This would give the Royals a solid corner outfielder and a solid young prospect in Arias, while the Blue Jays get a solid rotation arm.  

Why it wouldn’t: The Royals may be looking for an outfielder with more pedigree than Lukes, and the same with Toronto. 

San Diego Padres 
With Dylan Cease and Michael King being free agents and Yu Darvish likely to miss all of 2026 with elbow surgery, the need for solid rotation arms is palpable. Bubic could be the guy who gives the innings; he’s also familiar with Freddy Fermin, who will likely be the starting catcher for San Diego.  

Potential Trade: Kris Bubic, Carlos Estevez, and Blake Mitchell for Jackson Merrill  

Why this would work: The Padres would get a solid starter in Bubic, as well as the MLB save leader, to form a pretty nasty bullpen. Plus, the Royals would get a really good, really young outfielder out of it as well. The addition of Blake Mitchell to their depleted farm system wouldn’t be bad either.  

Why it wouldn’t: It would be tough for the Padres to replace Merrill so that he would be untouchable, and the Royals would be giving up a lot of capital for one player.