Kris Bubic wins arbitration hearing

Left-handed Kris Bubic won his arbitration hearing against the Royals, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He will receive the $6.15 million salary amount that he and his representatives submitted to Apex Baseball, instead of the $5.15 million amount submitted by the team.

The 28-year-old Bubic seemed well on his way to a breakthrough season in 2025 before a strained rotator cuff ended his season in late July. He showed off a new gear upon returning from Tommy John surgery in 2024, when he posted a 2.67 ERA with eye-popping strikeout and walk rates (32.2%, 4.1%) in a small sample size of 30 1/3 frames of relief. He was not as dominant in 2025, but still gave reason to buy into the results of the previous season; in 116 1/3 innings in the Kansas City rotation, Bubic posted a stellar 2.55 ERA with a 24.4% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and a strong 47.2% ground-ball rate.

Add those two seasons together and Bubic has a solid 2.58 ERA, 26% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate, and 48.8% groundball rate in his past 146 2/3 innings. He’s locked into a spot in manager Matt Quatraro’s rotation, and with a full, healthy season, he’ll position himself as one of the most sought-after players on next year’s free agent market. This is his last season in club control, given his 5,135 years of service in the big league.

Bubic will join Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha And Noah Cameron in what should be a formidable Royals rotation. His proximity to free agency led the Royals to at least consider the idea of ​​trading him this winter to acquire help in other areas of the big league roster, but obviously no deal materialized. The Mets and Red Sox were both linked to Bubic at various points this winter as they scoured the trade market for rotation upgrades.

If the Royals fall out of contention in the first half of the season, Bubic’s name could appear on the trade market again. But provided he’s healthy and anywhere near his 2024-2025 form, he’ll be a qualifying bid candidate, so Kansas City would likely be looking for a fairly notable return to pry him loose. That’s a general consideration anyway; The Royals enter the 2026 season with a club very similar to the one they released in 2026, although they hope better health and new arrivals Isaac Collins, Avenue Thomas, Matt Strahm And Nick Mears can help them compete in a perennially thin American League Central.