KANSAS CITY -- Less than a week after he came off the injured list following a left groin strain, left-hander Cole Ragans is back on the 15-day IL, with a different injury and different timeline than last time.
The Royals placed Ragans on the IL on Wednesday afternoon, retroactive to Sunday, with a left rotator cuff strain. Details were sparse on Wednesday regarding the severity of Ragans’ injury and the timeline for his return. On Thursday, manager Matt Quatraro said further test results confirmed a strain, and the team does not think it will require surgery. But Ragans will be shut down from throwing for “a while.”
Ragans will receive a second opinion next week, which will help the Royals determine exactly how long that shutdown will be.
After Ragans spent 20 days on the IL with his first injury, this return won’t be as quick.
Kansas City did get one key pitcher back on Wednesday, activating right-hander Lucas Erceg from the IL after a minimum 15-day stint with a low back strain. In corresponding moves, righty Jonathan Bowlan was recalled from Triple-A Omaha, and righty Trevor Richards was designated for assignment.
Ragans absorbed his worst start of the season in the nightcap of Thursday's doubleheader at St. Louis, allowing five runs and three walks across three innings. A year after finishing fourth in American League Cy Young voting, the Royals’ ace has a 5.18 ERA across 10 starts in what has been an injury-riddled season so far.
It was after that start in St. Louis that Ragans began to feel shoulder soreness. At first, he and the Royals hoped it was normal fatigue, given he threw 72 pitches and was still building up after his IL stint and rehab start. With off-days and six starters on the roster allowing for extra rest, the Royals pushed him back in the rotation. The hope was that he would start this weekend against the A’s.
"It wasn’t like I threw a singular pitch and felt something,” Ragans said. “It was nothing like that. After, just got pretty stiff. Did some treatments and stuff. It just never really got better.”
After Monday’s off-day and the soreness still lingering while playing catch Tuesday, Ragans went for scans and testing, which revealed the rotator cuff strain. Now they’ll await the results of Wednesday’s testing to determine what’s next.
"All things considered, I think we caught it early,” Quatraro said. “... There’s no real point in me saying anything, until he sees the doctor and we get another test.”
Ragans is not immune to injuries; the 27-year-old has undergone two Tommy John surgeries on his left elbow. But this is the first time since he was traded to the Royals in 2023 that he’s dealt with extended injuries.
"I’m going to be pissed for a little bit,” Ragans said. “I think I deserve to be pissed for a little bit. Nobody wants to be hurt. But it’s part of it. Take it day by day. I’m still going to cheer these guys on. I still get to be around baseball every day, and that’s something you dream of as a kid. You try to take the positives out of it.
"... I’m going to keep the same attitude. I’m going to work hard and try to get this thing right and come back and help this team make a playoff push.”
The Royals had been deploying a six-man rotation for the last week when Ragans returned; now the five starters on the roster will continue in the traditional rotation: Kris Bubic, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Michael Lorenzen and rookie Noah Cameron.
Kansas City’s rotation has been a strength this season, despite the injuries to Ragans and Lugo, who was on the IL in May with a middle finger sprain. The unit’s 3.32 ERA entering Wednesday ranks fourth best in the Majors.
But not having Ragans for any extended period of time will certainly hurt. If the Royals are to get back to the postseason, they need their ace back, healthy and pitching like he did last year.
For now, they’ll be relying on the rest of the rotation and their depth to fill that void.
"It’s very frustrating," Quatraro said. “I feel badly for him. He’s a diligent worker. He prepares like crazy to get out here. It’s not a lack of preparation or work ethic. Sometimes you get hurt. … It’s very unfortunate, it’s disappointing, it’s sad -- whatever term you want to use to describe it. But more than anything, I feel badly for Cole, because he loves to be out there, and we love to have him out there and give us a good chance to win.”