Former Stanford Pitcher Brought up in Recent Kansas City Royals Trade Rumors

Making the playoffs in 2024 for the first time in eight years, the Kansas City Royals went into 2025 ready to build off a successful campaign, eager to get over the hump and make a run at the World Series.

But injuries, combined with under-performances at the plate caused the Royals to fall just short of a postseason berth, going 82-80, and missing the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 seasons. That is why the Royals need to make sure that this offseason is a good one that will set them up for 2026 and beyond.

In order for the Royals to get better, they will need to make some tweaks to the roster, including adding some offense and more depth in the pitching staff. Because of that, there have been some rumors swirling around that the Royals could look to trade some pieces in order to obtain some valuable assets.

One name thrown around in trade speculation is left-handed starting pitcher and former Stanford star, and 2025 AL All Star, Kris Bubic.

Bubic, who is one year away from free agency, is projected to make around $6 million next season in arbitration. And while he is coming off of a strong season, he is also coming off of an injury, seeing his season cut short at the end of July with a rotator cuff strain.

While relying heavily on a pitcher coming off of an arm injury can be a tricky proposition, holding onto Bubic could also be a good option for the Royals.

Trading him would allow the team to potentially improve their lineup and give them some more bats that will help them score more runs and win more games. But in 2025, the Royals biggest strength was arguably their rotation, with Bubic being a big reason for that. In 20 starts this season, Bubic had a 2.55 ERA, 116 strikeouts and a 1.18 WHIP.

Even without Bubic, the Royals would still boast Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, in addition to standout rookie Noah Cameron, giving them one heck of a start on a rotation.

Bubic is a very interesting name to bring up in trade rumors because he is not the big name pitcher that guys like Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers or Freddy Peralta of the Milwaukee Brewers are, but his consistency has been evident over the last couple of seasons, and he would surely make any team’s pitching staff better.

Still, he brings a lot of value to the Royals and is still young enough to be a cornerstone piece if they decided to sign him to an extension instead. Still, with his injury history and the Royals only having one more year of assured team control over him, moving him for an outfielder could make a decent amount of sense.

Pitching three seasons for Stanford from 2016-18, Bubic became a key part of Stanford’s starting staff as a sophomore, posting a 2.79 ERA in 15 starts in 2017. As a senior in 2018, Bubic posted an 8-1 win-loss record and a 2.62 ERA in 15 starts, helping Stanford go 46-12, win the Pac-12 and make it all the way to the NCAA Regionals.

After the season, he was drafted 40th overall by the Royals in the 2018 MLB Draft. Both Bubic and former Cardinal Kyle Stowers had breakout seasons for their respective clubs in 2025, which is always a welcome sight on The Farm.