Only one year after trading starting pitcher Brady Singer in the offseason, the Kansas City Royals are fixing to deplete their rotation depth once again.
Earlier this week, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reported that it is likely the Royals will trade from their surplus of starters this winter to try and find an impact bat. Part of the reason that’s necessary, of course, is that Jonathan India did not prove to be such an impactful bat in his first season in town.
We’ll save the talk about which bats the Royals should pursue for the end of the season. For now, let’s concentrate on which starter should be dealt.
Before the season, if you’d told a die-hard Royals fan, “Kris Bubic needs to be traded,” they’d look at you all sorts of funny. “Sure,” they might say, “but what is that even going to get them?”
As it turns out, the answer is “quite a lot.” And that’s why Bubic should ultimately be the name the Royals decide to dangle in front of teams looking for impact arms this winter.
The Royals didn’t shoot high enough by trading for India last offseason. He was, at best, a solid tone-setter at the top of the order. Kansas City needs a borderline All-Star, someone who can make the lives of the rest of the hitters in this lineup a lot easier just by being himself.
Bubic, who made the All-Star team this year and pitched to a 2.55 ERA in 20 starts before going down with a rotator cuff strain, is probably the Royals’ best bet to land that type of impact player. Sure, he only has one year left under contract, but a big-market team could look to acquire him and offer him a long-term extension.
Meanwhile, the Royals would still have Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Noah Cameron, and either Ryan Bergert or Stephen Kolek left behind to fill out their start-of-season rotation.
We’re not privy to the phone calls the Royals make to opposing general managers, so we won’t know for sure if Bubic is the name that can land them the biggest fish. But is sure seems realistic to think that, and if it’s true, the Royals have every reason to pull the trigger.
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