Left royalists Chris Bubic is a player of interest to the Athletics before the trade deadline, writes USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Bubic is a free agent after the season, and thus a logical trade candidate if the 27-39 Royals can’t get back into contention.
The first order of business is Bubic’s health, as the southpaw has been out since May 14 due to soreness in his throwing elbow. Bubic downplayed the extent of the problem when he was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and even though he is over 15 days, he has been throwing bullpen sessions and appears to be on track with regular pitching.
Any type of elbow problem is especially concerning given Bubic’s injury history, as he has pitched just 213 innings since the start of the 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery and a rotator cuff strain. After the TJ procedure put Bubic out for most of the 2023-24 season, he returned to the rotation in good shape and earned an All-Star nod last year before a rotator cuff issue prematurely ended his season in late July.
Things didn’t go well in Bubic’s latest comeback, as he posted a 4.11 ERA in his first nine starts and 50 1/3 innings of the 2026 campaign. Bubic is still striking out a good number of batters, but his 12.6% walk rate is significantly higher than his previous career average of 9.4%. Batters also chase Bubic’s pitches a lot less than in 2025, and have had more success against his sweeper and his low-90s fastball.
Still, whether Bubic projects as a middle rotation or a starting back than a front-end, that still makes him a valuable rental asset. Bubic has about $3.88MM left in his $6.15MM salary, so he fits any team’s budget. Assuming Bubic is back in Kansas City’s rotation within a few weeks, the A’s and many other teams are looking at the veteran’s readiness before the August 3 trade deadline.
There is so much equity offered in the American League that it can take more than a month for most teams to fall between the “buyer” and “seller” categories, and naturally several teams can do a little of both. At 31-34, the Athletics aren’t that far behind the Royals in the standings, so there’s no guarantee the West Sacramento club will still be in buyer mode once the deadline passes.
If the A’s remain in the hunt, rotation help is an obvious need. Today’s 5-0 shutout of the Astros was a rare gem for a pitching staff that entered Sunday’s game with a combined 4.66 team ERA, which ranked 26th out of 30 teams. Injury to Luis Severino again Aaron Civale he relegated what was already a weak rotation to begin with, and a move to acquire Bubic (or another prominent starter) for immediate relief doesn’t seem likely as the Royals likely still hope to turn their season around.
The current Athletics starting five consists of Jeffrey Springs, JT Ginn, Jack Perkins (with 70 2/3 MLB innings to his name) and two rookies at Gage Jump again Late Morris. The highly touted Jump threw 6 1/3 shutout innings today and has a 2.45 ERA over his first 13 1/3 innings, but the A’s may not want to lean too heavily on the idea of Jump maintaining this production throughout the playoff race.
Sutter Health Park has proven to be a tough challenge for many starting pitchers, but Bubic could be a good fit for a hitter-friendly environment. Bubic has done a good job of keeping the ball in the park over his past four seasons, though running naturally at Kauffman Stadium has helped him this time around. Bubic has a career-low 45.7% rate, with this season’s 43.8% number slightly below average.
