The Royals made a Cole Ragans announcement on Friday.
The Kansas City Royals have struggled over the past few weeks. The ball club has also been without ace Cole Ragans due to injury. On Friday, however, Kansas City shared an important Ragans announcement. The southpaw is expected to begin a rehab assignment at the Triple-A level on Saturday, the team announced.
While Ragans has struggled this season, he still features one of the highest ceilings in all of MLB. The 28-year-old pitched to a 4.84 ERA across eight starts before landing on the injured list. Ragans added 45 strikeouts in his 35.1 innings on the mound.
In 2025, Ragans had a 4.67 ERA in 13 outings. He was limited due to injury, but Ragans also struggled while on the mound.
During the 2024 campaign, however, Ragans was one of the best pitchers in the game. He recorded a 3.14 ERA and he had 223 strikeouts. The Royals left-handed pitcher ended up finishing fourth in American League Cy Young voting.
One has to imagine that Ragans could still perform at a high level. For now, his focus is on getting healthy. Once he returns from injury, then Ragans can work on returning to his Cy Young-caliber form.
Royals Struggling in Recent Action
The Royals entered Friday's game against the Seattle Mariners with a 1-9 record across their past 10 games. The ball club is in fourth place in the American League Central standings. Kansas City is attempting to get back on track, but the ball club is clearly not playing its best baseball right now.
Of course, playing without their ace has not helped matters. The offense has not performed well either, though. Many of the Royals stars are underperforming at the moment.
Kansas City needs to figure things out as soon as possible. They will attempt to accomplish that feat this weekend against the Mariners.
Kansas City's Upcoming Series vs. Mariners
The Royals are playing the Mariners at the moment. Seattle has endured an inconsistent season overall. The ball club also had high expectations for the '26 campaign, but they have yet to meet their goals.
While the Royals have not played especially well, both the Mariners and Royals have underperformed. It should be a competitive series. The Royals certainly need wins as soon as possible, so perhaps they can get the job done at home against Seattle. The Mariners have talent and will present a challenge, however.
