{"id":2169165,"date":"2025-11-20T21:03:24","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T21:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2169165"},"modified":"2025-11-20T21:03:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T21:03:24","slug":"royals-all-star-pitcher-positioned-as-top-trade-chip-after-breakout-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/royals-all-star-pitcher-positioned-as-top-trade-chip-after-breakout-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Royals All-Star Pitcher Positioned As Top Trade Chip After Breakout Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div q:key=\"QW_4\"><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=6p q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>The Kansas City Royals should be an interesting team to watch this offseason. They finished 82-80 and fell to third place in the American League Central this year, missing the postseason.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6q q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6r\">The Kansas City Royals should be an interesting team to watch this offseason. They finished 82-80 and fell to third place in the American League Central this year, missing the postseason.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=6s q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Their offense let them down this season, and that is an area of improvement for next year&rsquo;s club. The Royals seem to prefer going the trade route instead of diving into free agency for a bat with options there being so limited.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6t q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6u\">Their offense let them down this season, and that is an area of improvement for next year\u2019s club. The Royals seem to prefer going the trade route instead of diving into free agency for a bat with options there being so limited.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=6v q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>To get the quality of bat that they need, they&rsquo;ll have to trade a pitcher. Kerry Miller of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/25293816-every-mlb-teams-player-most-likely-be-traded-2025-26-offseason\" target=\"_blank\">Bleacher Report<\/a> listed the top trade candidates from each team, and for the Royals it was left-hander Kris Bubic.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6w q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6x\">To get the quality of bat that they need, they\u2019ll have to trade a pitcher. Kerry Miller of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/25293816-every-mlb-teams-player-most-likely-be-traded-2025-26-offseason\" target=\"_blank\">Bleacher Report<\/a> listed the top trade candidates from each team, and for the Royals it was left-hander Kris Bubic.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=6y q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p><em>If you like our content, <\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\"><u><em>choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google<\/em><\/u><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6z q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"70\"><em>If you like our content, <\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\"><u><em>choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google<\/em><\/u><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=71 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<h2>Kris Bubic Remains Top Trade Candidate<\/h2>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=72 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"73\">Kris Bubic Remains Top Trade Candidate<\/h2>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=74 q:key=vcaa:https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_3269,h_1838,x_0,y_0\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/inside_the_royals\/01kagta96qywxj1cqwxp--><!--qv q:id=75 q:key=VjqC:mL_1--><!--qv q:id=76 q:key=deAA:7d_2--><!--qv q:s q:sref=76 q:key=--><!--qv q:id=77 q:key=deAA:7d_1--><!--qv q:s q:sref=77 q:key=--><!--qv q:id=78 q:key=cHU9:7d_0--><!--qv q:id=79 q:key=deAA:e2_0--><!--qv q:id=7a q:key=B0c2:SZ_1--><\/p>\n<figure q:key=\"9m_3\"><!--qv q:s q:sref=7a q:key=--><!--qv q:s q:sref=79 q:key=--><\/p>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey undefined\" on:qvisible=\"q-Bnv79DLh.js#_hW[0]\" q:id=\"7b\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3269,h_1838\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kagta96qywxj1cqwxp.jpg 1x, &#10;    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3269,h_1838\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kagta96qywxj1cqwxp.jpg 2x, &#10;    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3269,h_1838\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kagta96qywxj1cqwxp.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 719px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3269,h_1838\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kagta96qywxj1cqwxp.jpg 1x,&#10;    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3269,h_1838\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kagta96qywxj1cqwxp.jpg 2x, &#10;    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3269,h_1838\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kagta96qywxj1cqwxp.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 1079px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3269,h_1838\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kagta96qywxj1cqwxp.jpg 1x,&#10;    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3269,h_1838\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kagta96qywxj1cqwxp.jpg 2x,&#10;    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3269,h_1838\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kagta96qywxj1cqwxp.jpg 3x\" media=\"(min-width: 1080px)\"><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><\/p>\n<p><figcaption q:id=\"7d\">Jul 20, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic (50) delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=7e q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>&ldquo;The Royals already have Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Cole Ragans, Noah Cameron and quite a few more-than-viable No. 5 starters at their disposal, so if they can turn Bubic into a similarly-priced outfielder who can actually contribute on offense, why wouldn&#39;t they pursue that?&rdquo; Miller wrote.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=7f q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7g\">\u201cThe Royals already have Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Cole Ragans, Noah Cameron and quite a few more-than-viable No. 5 starters at their disposal, so if they can turn Bubic into a similarly-priced outfielder who can actually contribute on offense, why wouldn&#8217;t they pursue that?\u201d Miller wrote.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=7h q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Bubic was an All-Star for the first time this year, going 8-7 with a 2.55 ERA in 20 starts, but an injury ultimately cut his season short. But if he can stay healthy in 2026, he could still be a solid pitcher.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=7i q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7j\">Bubic was an All-Star for the first time this year, going 8-7 with a 2.55 ERA in 20 starts, but an injury ultimately cut his season short. But if he can stay healthy in 2026, he could still be a solid pitcher.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=7k q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Of the Royals starters, Bubic is the one that they can afford to move. He is entering the final year of his contract, and thanks to his success in 2025, he could bring back<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/royals\/news\/jj-picollo-discusses-royals-at-gm-meetings\" target=\"_blank\"> a solid outfield piece<\/a> from a team in need of pitching.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=7l q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7m\">Of the Royals starters, Bubic is the one that they can afford to move. He is entering the final year of his contract, and thanks to his success in 2025, he could bring back<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/royals\/news\/jj-picollo-discusses-royals-at-gm-meetings\" target=\"_blank\"> a solid outfield piece<\/a> from a team in need of pitching.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=7n q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>The Boston Red Sox are a team that lines up well with both Wilyer Abreu and Jarren Duran being shopped. They also need a frontline starter to go along with Garrett Crochet, and the Royals could give them that with Bubic.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=7o q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7p\">The Boston Red Sox are a team that lines up well with both Wilyer Abreu and Jarren Duran being shopped. They also need a frontline starter to go along with Garrett Crochet, and the Royals could give them that with Bubic.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=7q q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Kansas City already has a solid starting rotation, so they can afford to lose Bubic as long as they get what they need from an offensive standpoint.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=7r q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7s\">Kansas City already has a solid starting rotation, so they can afford to lose Bubic as long as they get what they need from an offensive standpoint.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=7t q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>One big addition on the offensive side could truly transform the Royals and have them right back&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=7u q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7v\">One big addition on the offensive side could truly transform the Royals and have them right back\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=7w q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>in the postseason in 2026 after falling short in 2025. It will be interesting to see who the Royals can bring back, but the easiest way for them to get what they need is to trade Bubic before his contract expires.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=7x q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7y\">in the postseason in 2026 after falling short in 2025. It will be interesting to see who the Royals can bring back, but the easiest way for them to get what they need is to trade Bubic before his contract expires.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=7z q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p><em><strong>More MLB: <\/strong><\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/royals\/onsi\/news\/royals-could-pursue-these-3-recently-dumped-players-this-offseason-jackson3\"><em><strong>Royals Could Pursue These 3 Recently-Dumped Players This Offseason<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=80 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"81\"><em><strong>More MLB: <\/strong><\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/royals\/onsi\/news\/royals-could-pursue-these-3-recently-dumped-players-this-offseason-jackson3\"><em><strong>Royals Could Pursue These 3 Recently-Dumped Players This Offseason<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kansas City Royals should be an interesting team to watch this offseason. They finished 82-80 and fell to third place in the American League Central this year, missing the postseason. Their offense let them down this season, and that is an area of improvement for next year\u2019s club. The Royals seem to prefer going [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2169166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2169165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Royals-All-Star-Pitcher-Positioned-As-Top-Trade-Chip-After-Breakout.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2169165"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2169167,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169165\/revisions\/2169167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2169166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2169165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2169165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2169165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}