Royals Rumors: Insider hints at one team that could bow out of Kris Bubic sweepstakes

Everywhere Kansas City Royals fans look, it seems like their left-handed starters are popular trade chips for the organization.

Need a trade proposal? Well, depending on the scenario, there is likely to be one of Kris Bubic, Noah Cameron, or, for the more daring, Cole Ragans.

All three have different ceilings, floors, control remaining, and ultimate value following the 2025 season. The Royals still need some help in the lineup, and a way that fans and the organization itself thinks that could happen is by trading away from their starting pitching coffers.

A sensible trade partner, one that Kansas City has danced with in recent seasons, is the NL Central's Chicago Cubs. The club is in an interesting spot, presumably losing outfield Kyle Tucker to free agency and not being willing to dance in the deeper end of pitching free agency.

The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney even deemed Michael King's three-year, $75 million contract with the Padres as too player friendly for Chicago's taste.

In the duo's latest mailbag, a reader brought up Bubic as a trade target. After all, Bubic would not break the payroll spreadsheet with a projected arbitration salary of $6 million in 2026. But, even after the All-Star's breakout 2025 season, Sharma questioned if Bubic is "what the Cubs really need?"

Royals may not be able to turn to Cubs to pull off Kris Bubic trade

"He’s also one year away from free agency, so prospect cost is a big factor here. The Cubs aren’t keen on giving up a ton of value for only one year of control of a player. They did it for Kyle Tucker and have been clear that it’s not something they want to make a habit out of.

Bubic is a perfectly fine pitcher and would upgrade the rotation. But it comes down to the price tag and whether there is a better fit available for this team. But as options dwindle, maybe the Cubs can’t be too picky, and it’s not like this would be a bad addition."

Sahadev Sharma, The Athletic

It is hardly a damning outlook from the writer, but if the payroll is capped and the rotation is the priority, one year of Bubic is better than most.

Kansas City is operating under the assumption Bubic will be ready for spring training in Arizona, so the shoulder injury should not be this dark storm cloud that anyone outside Kansas City makes it out to be. Perhaps Sharma is overestimating what a trade package for one year of Bubic could look like, a common occurence this offseason.

The reality is the 2025 season is an outlier in Bubic's career and he hasn't pitched more than 20 starts in a season since 2022. That season was the lone occurence too, with Bubic totalling 80 starts in his six MLB seasons.

While Bubic may be turning a corner and more valuable today than he was a calendar year ago, it is not like he is a proven, reliable starter for multiple years. Any trade return should reflect accordingly, and likely Bubic will not net a solid outfielder alone.

Chicago is a fun trade partner to look at, considering they are flush with prospect talent in the outfield.

Led by top prospect Owen Caissie, MLB Pipeline has nine outfielders in Chicago's Top 30 prospects heading into the 2026 season. Kansas City would be hard pressed to pry Cassie away from Chicago, but perhaps a swing on the optionless Kevin Alcántara or gambling on a Josiah
Hartshorn type could be the way to go.

Or, as general manager J.J. Picollo hinted at, getting creative with a multi-team trade could see Kansas City net their outfielder, Chicago get Bubic, and another partner receive the prospect pool the want.

Chicago and Kansas City are not that far away geographically, and aren't that far off from being ideal trade partners this offseason. Let's wonder if the front office has a more bullish or bearish take on Bubic in the rotation, as Sharma obviously favors the latter side.