Future Royals replacement for Kris Bubic might’ve surfaced in World Baseball Classic

The World Baseball Classic offers numerous different storylines in the lead up to the 2026 season that a spring training-only year simply couldn’t offer.

While Royals fans may be focused on their stars like Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino and how they perform, it’s hard for the baseball fan in all of us to not use the WBC to catch a glimpse and some talent that other than this, wouldn’t necessarily be the most accessible to the everyday MLB consumer.

One of those names arose in Friday’s Pool A action between Cuba and Panama, where the Cubans sent their ace to the mound in Liván Moinelo. In 3.2 scoreless innings, he surrendered just two hits and two walks while striking out four.

Now, why exactly is Moinelo a name Royals fans should be aware of (or MLB fans in general)?

Well for those unaware, Moinelo was named Pacific League MVP in NPB last season, with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

With performances like what he had in 2025, while no concrete rumors have surfaced, it seems like only a matter of time before the posting conversations arise with a player of his caliber.

And for the Royals, a southpaw like this could be an intriguing option for the rotation in 2027 and beyond should the hypothetical posting become a reality, especially with one of their All-Star lefties in Kris Bubic currently set to hit the free agent market at the end of the season.

Royals could think outside-the-box with Liván Moinelo as potential Kris Bubic replacement

For context on Moinelo’s brilliant MVP season with the Hawks, he threw to a sterling 1.46 ERA, 2.23 FIP, 0.92 WHIP and .189 BAA with 172 strikeouts in 167.0 innings across 24 starts. And this comes off the heels of 1.88 ERA season in 25 starts the year prior – his first campaign as a starter.

In many ways, Moinelo’s professional career is similar to that of Bubic. While Moinelo wasn’t a starter to begin his NPB career like Bubic was for the Royals, Bubic did find himself at one point very successful in the bullpen before really breaking out as an All-Star in 2025 as a starter again.

As starters, their both names that sit in and around 9.00 K/9, live for inducing mid-level strength of contact more often than hard and avoid more damage-conducive line drives.

Now, most of the time, when talent from NPB or the KBO are discussed, the small market, Midwest Royals aren’t usually a landing spot that comes to mind.

That being said, we’re not talking about a big-name Asian talent here, we’re talking about a foreign talent succeeding in Asia.

That of market seems somewhat more conducive to other teams beyond the usual major coastal powerhouses like New York, Boston or Los Angeles. Just look at recent names like Eric Fedde making the jump back stateside with the White Sox, or Cody Ponce choosing to sign with the Blue Jays or even a familiar face in Foster Griffin heading to the Nationals after his excellent stint in Japan.

There will likely be stiff competition for Moinelo’s services if he were to be posted, if pitches similar in 2026 to his last two seasons. However, given the jump from NPB to MLB usually comes with some decrease in stats, a financial figure would likely be more palatable for traditionally frugal team like the Royals. Potentially even more frugal than if Bubic were to replicate his All-Star season from last year in 2026.

Time will tell if Moinelo ends up getting posted or if Bubic needs to be replaced, but after a strong start to his 2026 WBC, this is an arm worth the attention of Royals fan this month.