The Chicago Cubs have not been directly connected to Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic in trade rumors this offseason, but it's not hard to believe that Jed Hoyer could be revisiting the trade deadline target once again. Bubic, who had his 2025 season cut short because of injury, is reportedly receiving interest in the trade market and it would make sense if the Cubs are involved.
Here's the latest on Bubic garnering interest early on in the offseason according to The Athletic's Will Sammon. More importantly, the Royals are not shutting down the possibility of trading away their All-Star pitcher.
Via The Athletic.
At a time when club executives are doubting whether some top-of-the-rotation pitchers get moved, Kansas City Royals lefty starter Kris Bubic, an All-Star last season, is garnering trade interest from multiple teams, league sources said.
In need of offense and boasting some pitching depth, the Royals are open to the possibility of dealing Bubic, people familiar with the club’s thinking said.
Bubic, 28, ended the 2025 season with a 2.55 ERA in 20 starts. The left-handed starter struck out 24.4% of the batters he faced over 116.1 innings and put up a 3/1 strikeout to walk ratio. However, Bubic was shut down a few days before the trade deadline because of a rotator cuff strain.
The Cubs have to add multiple arms to their rotation this winter and circling back to Bubic could make sense despite the concerns of how the pitcher bounces back from his shoulder injury. However, the cost would certainly be lower than other targets, considering both salary, Bubic is projected to earn $6 million in his final year of arbitration, plus the package sent over to the Royals would be considerably less than for guys like Joe Ryan, MacKenzie Gore or Edward Cabrera.
Bubic is also set to become a free agent following the 2026 season, so only having him for one year also drives down his price. However, the reward could be great if the left-hander does indeed return next year fully healthy.
We'll see if the Cubs will be in the mix for Bubic, but you also have to wonder why the Royals are so willing to trade away pitching when they're a fringe contender. Definitely an eye-raiser and you bet the Cubs will want a thorough medical review if they end up engaging in trade talks for Bubic.
Trade deadline interest and injury
For a few weeks the Chicago Cubs in Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic. The 27-year-old was having an elite season, ranking fourth in the American League with a 2.38 ERA through July 20, but sometimes the best trades are the ones you never make.
We're not really sure how serious, if at all, talks got between the Cubs and Royals for Bubic, but they seemingly dodged a bullet because he's now going to miss the rest of the season with an injury.
After being placed on the 15-day injured list the Royals announced on Monday that Bubic's recovery from a shoulder issue will sideline him through the end of the 2025 season.
This isn't the first time Bubic has dealt with a serious arm injury. The lefty underwent Tommy John surgery earlier in his career, which wiped out pretty much all of his 2023 season and limited him to bullpen duty once he returned in 2024. Yet, Bubic's resurgence that did begin with work as a reliever made him an attractive trade target this summer, especially because he could have come with another year of control in 2026 via arbitration.
