The Royals have been actively seeking to trade their starting pitching depth for a bat that can help their lineup, but have so far been unable to land a starting-caliber impact player. The Red Sox have been interested in Cole Ragans, but the Royals have been unwilling to trade away such a high-upside arm. Instead, they have been more open to trading Kris Bubic, who has one year left before he hits free agency. Bubic was outstanding last year, with arguably the best first half of any pitcher in the league, but he suffered a left rotator cuff strain and missed the final two months of the season. This comes after he missed most of the 2023 season due to a UCL injury that required Tommy John surgery, and after pitching all of the 2024 season in the bullpen.
The injury concerns have likely made it more challenging to trade him for high value, despite some impressive numbers last year. In 20 starts, Bubic had an ERA of 2.55 with 116 strikeouts in 116.1 innings, a 3.3 fWAR season, and the seventh-lowest ERA in baseball for a pitcher with that many innings. With that in mind, there are several teams whose roster construction, competitive window, and tolerance for pitching risk make them logical fits to explore a deal for Bubic.
The Diamondbacks are looking for pitching, but they are said to be looking for younger cost-controlled pitching, which likely makes them a poor fit. Additionally, while they are open to trading All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte, his value is far too high to make a trade work with Kris Bubic unless the Royals add in a prospect like Carter Jensen. The Diamondbacks lack many other assets that would interest the Royals, as their outfielders other than Corbin Carroll failed to hit.
If there was a deal here, it might be for top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt, .289/.419/.473 with 18 home runs and 29 steals across High-A and Double-A last year. He’s a 23-year-old former first-rounder, but with the Diamondbacks starved for offensive-minded outfielders, they’re not likely to trade him, and the Royals are probably looking for someone a bit more established.
Proposal: Kris Bubic for Ryan Waldschmidt and Brandyn Garcia
The Orioles have also been on the search for starting pitching, although they have acquired Shane Baz and brought back Zach Eflin this offseason. They could still be in the market for a high-upside arm, even a one-year pitcher like Bubic. Colton Cowser was impressive in 2024, hitting .242/.321/.447 with 24 home runs, but slumped badly last year, hitting just .196. The Royals could take a chance that he could rebound, but the Orioles may be reluctant to trade him for one year of Bubic. Prospect Dylan Beavers was impressive in 35 games last year, hitting .227/.375/.400, but the Orioles may want to hold onto him as well.
Baltimore would be more willing to deal Heston Kjerstad, the former #2 overall pick who has hit just .218/.284/.365 in 106 MLB games, but the Royals are likely looking for a hitter with a higher floor. Infielder Coby Mayo also seems squeezed out of a role on the roster, but would be a poor fit for the Royals unless they can move him to second base or outfield, neither of which he has played before.
Proposal: Kris Bubic and Kyle Isbel for Colton Cowser
The Red Sox have been looking for a front-of-the-rotation pitcher to go with Garrett Crochet, and have expressed interest in Cole Ragans. The Royals have interest in All-Star outfielder Jarren Duran, but are have been unwilling to part with Ragans. They would be more interested in moving Bubic, although it remains unclear if Boston would be have interest. He would certainly be not enough to land Duran, but the Red Sox have a glut of outfielders. Wilyer Abreu would be a perfect trade target for the Royals. The 26-year-old Gold Glove-winning right fielder hit .247/.317/.469 with 22 home runs, but that is also why the Red Sox are likely to want to hang onto him.
Triston Casas is likely available now that the Red Sox acquired Willson Contreras from the Cardinals, but the Royals already have depth at first base. Kristian Campbell was a consensus top ten prospect in baseball before the start of last year, but hit just .223/.319/.345 with six home runs in 67 games with the Red Sox. The second baseman is also signed to an eight-year, $60 million contract, which could make him a bit of a gamble. He might be more well-suited for centerfield, and he’s just 23 years old, with tremendous upside.
Proposal: Kris Bubic, Luinder Avila, and the competitive balance draft pick for Wilyer Abreu
The Astros have signed Tatsuya Imai and traded for Mike Burrows, but could still be looking for high-upside arms to replace the potential loss of free agent Framber Valdez. They have been dangling Jake Meyers, who the Royals are reported to have interest in. He is coming off a career-best season, but was very BABIP-lucky last year, and doesn’t provide much power. Jesús Sánchez is another outfielder who could become available, although he hit very poorly after being acquired by the Astros last year.
They could also trade Isaac Paredes, who hit .254/.352/.458 with 20 home runs in 102 games, earning his second All-Star appearance. Paredes has two more years of club control, but plays first and third base, positions the Royals already have covered. The Astros have said they have no interest in trading him, but also have Carlos Correa at third, and Christian Walker at first.
Cam Smith is another young third baseman/outfielder who may not have a spot in the lineup right now. The former first-round pick was acquired in the Kyle Tucker trade and had mixed results in his rookie season in 2025, hitting .236/.312/.358 with nine home runs and a high strikeout rate.
Proposal: Kris Bubic and Carson Roccaforte for Cam Smith
The Mets have a pretty shaky rotation, although they could get some help with young pitching prospects Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat ready to contribute. But they could use a one-year, high-upside arm in case those arms aren’t ready. A report from Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon at The Athletic asserts the Mets could be interested in rentals, and lists Bubic as a possibility.
The Royals could be interested in third baseman Brett Baty, a player they were reportedly interested in last offseason. The lefty bat had a breakout season in 2025, hitting .254/.313/.435 with 18 home runs in 130 games, worth 3.1 rWAR. He played mostly third base last year, but has experience playing second. Rosenthal and Sammon write the Mets are more willing to deal infielders Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio or Luisangel Acuña. Vientos hit 17 home runs in 121 games last year, and 27 home runs the year before that, but is a poor defender at third with subpar plate discipline. Mauricio is a former top 100 prospect at shortstop who has suffered a knee injury that has plagued him the last two seasons and has not hit in limited big league action. Acuña is Maikel Garcia’s cousin and is also a former top 100 prospect, but hit just .234/.293/.274 in 193 plate appearances last year.
Proposal: Kris Bubic for Brett Baty
The Yankees are exploring the starting pitching trade market as they wait for Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, and Clarke Schmidt to return from injury. They missed out on Edward Cabrera, and a blockbuster for Tarik Skbual seems unlikely. Bubic could be a nice stopgap for one year and give the Yankees a second lefty in the rotation to pair with Max Fried.
Outfielder Jasson Domínguez had an underwhelming season for a former top 25 prospect, but he shows good patience at the plate, and his overall line was league average at .257/.331/.388 with 10 home runs and 23 steals. The Yankees seem unlikely to deal him for one year of a pitcher, but perhaps they would trade the outfielder he is blocking, Spencer Jones. The 24-year-old was a top 100 prospect in 2024, and slammed 35 home runs across Double-A and Triple-A last year, hitting .274/.362/.571. He strikes out a ton, but has terrific speed and is capable of playing centerfield.
Proposal: Kris Bubic and Luinder Avila for Spencer Jones
The Giants came into this offseason looking at “modestly priced” pitchers, and so far they have added free agents Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle. That may mean they are done adding to the rotation, but if they are looking to add an All-Star arm to pair with Logan Webb, they could bring Bubic back to the Bay Area where he pitched in high school and college.
The Giants have a number of young outfielders they will need to find playing time for, and DH should be filled with top prospect Bryce Eldridge coming up and blocked by Rafael Devers at first base. The Giants just acquired outfielder Drew Gilbert from the Mets last summer, but he could be an attractive target for the Royals. He shows good plate discipline with a line of .262/.369/.466 with 14 home runs in 93 minor league games last season.
A few readers have suggested this already, but outfielder Heliot Ramos could make sense for the Royals. He was an All-Star in 2024, and has hit 20+ home runs in each of the last two seasons. Last year he hit .256/.328/400 in 157 games. He is just 26 years old, but does strike out a lot and has been a poor defender in left.
Proposal: Kris Bubic and Steven Cruz for Drew Gilbert and Erik Miller
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.royalsreview.com ’
