So I knew something seemed off! I never added the updates repository only the oss and non-oss. I added the repository and lo and behold I can get the devel for the currently installed kernel.
# yast2 repositories
Add > Community Repositories
*OSS
*Non-OSS
*Updates
# zypper in kernel-default-devel
Loading repository data...
Warning: Repository 'Main Update Repository' appears to outdated. Consider using a different mirror or server.
Reading installed packages...
Resolving package dependencies...
The following NEW packages are going to be installed:
kernel-default-devel kernel-devel
# vmware-config-tools.pl
... And everything goes as expected