Left royalists Cole Ragans had ulnar collateral ligament surgery in his pitching elbow, MLB.com’s Anne Rogers reports. Last week it was reported that Ragans would undergo elbow surgery, but the details of the operation were not yet clear. The Royals now expect Ragans to miss 10 to 12 months, per Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star. That suggests Ragans may have undergone internal brace surgery instead of full Tommy John surgery, as the latter would require a longer timeline of 14 months or more. Ragans is already on the 60-day disabled list and will remain there for the rest of the year.
While it’s not the worst situation for the Ragans and Royals, it’s pretty close. The lefty hit a 15-day IL in May due to an elbow strain. He started the repair work a few weeks later but it was stopped due to the tightness in the laundry. Subsequent tests led the Royals to decide last week that surgery would be necessary. Now that the exact details of the process are known, the Royals will have to go without Ragans for the rest of the year and possibly a good chunk of next year.
For Ragans, he will continue his damaged career. Not long ago, he looked like he was blossoming into an ace. Acquired from Rangers in the summer of 2023 Aroldis ChapmanHe posted a 2.64 earned run average that year. He pretty much kept that going for a full season in 2024, posting a 3.14 ERA, a 29.3% strikeout rate and an 8.8% walk rate over 32 starts. He finished fourth in the American League Cy Young voting.
But last year, a groin strain and rotator cuff strain limited him to 13 starts with a 4.67 ERA. This year, he posted a 4.84 ERA in eight starts before hitting IL. He will now miss the entire season and will not be able to complete a full season in 2027.
Contractually, it will not affect the Ragans in the short term. Entering 2025, when Ragans was coming off his best season, the Royals signed him to a three-year, $13.25MM contract for the 2025 to 2027 season. That deal includes one pre-arbitration season and two years of arbitration for the three Ragans. It gave him a small lump sum payment one year ahead of schedule, while giving the Royals some cost guarantees in the two years of his arb. He will still be the right reliever for the 2028 season. His ability to earn money in that last year of arb will depend on when he returns next year and how successful he is then.
For the Royals, it’s the latest news in what turns out to be a terrible season. The club is 35-52, the worst record in the American League. The Rockies are the only club in the majors to own it. Injuries played a big part in that. In addition to the Ragans, Chris Bubic, Carlos Estévez, Vinnie Pasquantino, Michael Garcia, Jonathan India and others are currently on the injured list. The beginnings of depth love Ryan Bergert again Ben Kudrna it also required season-ending elbow surgery.
The club are now set to go into the deadline as sellers. Hopefully, they can at least bring back some young talent to help them in future seasons, even though they don’t have much to sell. Bubic, Estévez and India could be free agents and would have been some of the team’s best trades but their injuries have reduced much or all of their value. Other upcoming free agents have also underperformed. Trading a controllable pitcher as Seth Lugo or Michael Wacha it can provide some value but will hurt the club’s 2027 turnover.
From now on, Wacha, Lugo and Noah Cameron could have three spots in next year’s rotation. With Ragans’ surgery, he could be an addition during the season but won’t be ready for Opening Day. The same could happen to Bergert and Kudrna. As mentioned, Bubic is bound for free agency. Boys love it Stephen Kolek, Luinder Avila, Mitch Spence and others can try to step up and look for jobs in the meantime, but the Royals may need to look for more rotation help at this year’s deadline or in the short term.
Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images
