logo
Blue Jays free agent target: Kris Bubic
alt
Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Aidan Sinclair
Oct 29, 2026, 19:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 28, 2026, 22:44 EDT
Comments
The 2026 Toronto Blue Jays endured about as many injuries to their pitching staff as you could imagine. Somehow, they still finished the season as one of the better all-around staffs in the game. 
One facet that was missing the entire year and had no bearing on injuries was a solid left-handed starting pitching option. Patrick Corbin and Eric Lauer were the only two southpaws that started regularly at any point for the club a season ago, both did not finish out the year on the roster. Lauer struggled mightily to open the season, posting an ERA north of 6.50, and in combination with his off-field antics, was DFA’d in early May. Corbin made 19 appearances, 15 of which were starts, but posted a 5.51 ERA and got hurt in early July, never pitching again down the stretch. 
There is clearly room for improvement in this department, with many options on the free agent market. Tarik Skubal is the headline name and not only would be the best left-handed pitcher the Jays have possibly ever rostered, but also cement himself as the team’s ace of the future. Realistically, Toronto will not compete financially with the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, among others, and could look elsewhere to fill out a more complete roster. 
Kris Bubic broke out in 2025, putting together the first all-star campaign of his career, with a 2.55 ERA across 116.1 innings. He had shown flashes of good stuff in years prior, but struggled with command issues and got hit hard. He finally put it all together two years ago, ranking in the 90th percentile for both breaking ball run value and chase rate, while walking just three batters per nine innings. 
Unfortunately for Bubic, aside from poor performance early on in his career, he’s been haunted by the injury bug, undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023, before dealing most recently with a rotator cuff strain in 2026. He opened this past season with the Kansas City Royals, pitching to a 4.11 ERA through his first nine starts, before being placed on the injured list. On an expiring contract, the Royals decided to trade him to the Dodgers at the deadline, and it wasn’t until the end of the season that Bubic debuted in Los Angeles. 
The southpaw collected just 4.2 scoreless innings in the final few weeks of the regular season, before appearing in two games in the playoffs. This would be an upside move for the Blue Jays, buying low on an arm that has shown the ability to eat innings effectively in the past. 
Bubic made significant changes post-Tommy John surgery in 2023, refining the pitches he already had and adding new ones to present opposing hitters with more weapons. His best pitch has always been his changeup, but it hasn’t always been one of the game’s best. In 2022, the only year in which Bubic has made more than 25 starts, his changeup sat at 80.7 MPH on average, and opposing batters hit .258 against it. Come 2025, his changeup was up almost five MPH, averaging 85.5, and opposing batters managed just a .198 batting average against it. 
The veteran left-hander has scrapped his curveball, which saw mixed results in the past, and has gone with a slider-sweeper combination across the past two seasons, with overall success. Additionally, Bubic has been one of the game’s best pitchers at keeping the ball in the yard, with a 1.0 career home runs per nine innings, having given up just 13 home runs over his past four seasons combined. 
Toronto won’t be getting anything flashy with Bubic, but they also don’t need a fireballer from the left side. It is unknown whether Ricky Tiedemann will develop into the power starter fans once dreamed of, but even if he remains a bullpen piece, the Jays have Dylan Cease and Jose Soriano at the top of the rotation. 
Since trading Yusei Kikuchi at the 2024 trade deadline, the Blue Jays haven’t found a serviceable left-handed pitcher, a commodity that comes in handy in October. Bubic’s contract will likely be one to three years with an AAV in the $10 million to $15 million range, giving Toronto every reason to grab him as their fifth starter heading into 2027.
Sponsored by bet365
Editorials
MORE NEWS. IN YOUR INBOX.
CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Breaking News