J.J. Picollo Explains Bullpen Plan Behind Kris Bubic Trade

The Royals spent Monday's trade deadline mostly standing still, and the one deal that did land ended Kris Bubic's seven big league seasons in Kansas City.

Kansas City sent the injured left-hander to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Triple-A reliever Carlos Duran, swapping an expiring contract for a power arm the front office wants in its next good bullpen.

General manager J.J. Picollo described the day as slow, which fit, because the only other trade brought Triple-A right-hander Nolan Hoffman over from the Phillies for 19-year-old minor leaguer Manuel Colon.

The bigger move came over the weekend, when Lane Thomas, who had been named a possible trade target for a contender in late July, went to Atlanta with Bailey Falter for two pitching prospects.

The front office held everything else, keeping John Schreiber and Starling Marte on expiring deals along with veteran starters Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, even though Lugo had boosted his trade value in July.

Anne Rogers of MLB.com reported that Kansas City was never keen on trading Wacha and Lugo because it needs both for the 2027 rotation.

Bubic was the obvious piece to sell.

Kansas City drafted him out of Stanford with the 40th overall pick in 2018, and he made the All-Star team last summer while finishing that season with a 2.55 ERA over 20 starts.

This year went sideways, as he posted a 4.11 ERA across nine starts before elbow soreness and then shoulder soreness during rehab put him on the shelf in mid-May, and he has not pitched since.

According to Rogers, the Royals were looking to move him because he is set to become a free agent this offseason.

The return fits that thinking.

"We need to try to build a bullpen for next season," Picollo said. "Carlos was a guy that we actually tried to acquire earlier this season."

Picollo described Duran as a big power arm with an upper-90s fastball who piles up strikeouts but still has work to do on his command.

Duran, a 25-year-old, 6-foot-7 right-hander, has one big league appearance, in 2025 with the A's, and a 3.38 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 42.2 innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.

None of this changes the short term, since the Royals sit last in the AL Central at 46-67, but the direction is finally honest.

A farm system that was ranked 25th after the July draft needed arms, and the front office added four minor league pitchers in two days without touching the players it wants around next year.

The rotation already needs offseason additions with Bubic gone and Cole Ragans, Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek all dealing with serious arm injuries.

The schedule offers no breather, as the Twins open a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night before the Royals visit the Dodgers in Los Angeles next Monday for an early look at Bubic's new club.

The rest of the season is an audition, and every inning Duran throws will tell the front office whether the first piece of that 2027 bullpen is already here.