The Kris Bubic Decision
The road to get where he is today for the first round pick was winding, but now he and the Royals both have a decision to make.
Identifying talent is the name of the game. The teams that do it best win and the teams that don’t, well, don’t. But identifying talent is more than just determining which guy can play and which guy can’t. It’s also about who to keep, who to trade, who to keep for a minute and then trade, who to be patient with, etc. The best teams at identifying talent will reach many decision points in a player’s career. It starts with should that player be moved before they’re in the big leagues, then it’s when to promote them to the big leagues if they’re not traded, then it’s their role and, eventually, it’s what to do as that player approaches free agency.
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For some, there are no questions from the organization’s side. The Royals were always going to attempt to extend Bobby Witt Jr., for example. And the truth is that Witt didn’t have to compromise if he didn’t want to. But for most, there’s a compromise required no matter the decision. And now 10 starts into his penultimate season under team control, the Royals have to make a choice with Kris Bubic and Kris Bubic has to make a choice with the Royals. The lefty is only under team control through the 2026 season, which means we’re getting down to the nitty gritty.
The way I see it, the Royals have five choices with Bubic (and Bubic the choice to say yes or no to them):
Extend him
Trade him during the 2025 season
Keep him all year and trade him in the 2025/2026 offseason
Keep him all year and into next year and trade him during the 2026 season
Keep him through the 2026 season and let him hit free agency
Let’s explore these, but in reverse order.
Keep Him Through 2026
This, to me, is probably the last choice, but an option that does have some benefits. If Bubic continues to pitch at the level of a 2-3 starter (he’s pitching like a 1 right now, but even if he drops off, he’s still excellent), it means the Royals get two years of a pitcher who is good enough to start during a playoff series in years they’re contending/expect to contend. There are worse things. And then when free agency hits, he’d get the qualifying offer and go into free agency looking for his first big payday.