The Kansas City Royals are not trading starting pitcher Cole Ragans.
The Kansas City Royals made their intentions known this week when general manager J.J. Picollo shut down the idea of trading left-hander Cole Ragans. Per MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, Picollo was direct, saying Kansas City has no plans to move the 28-year-old starter, even as other clubs inquire and they look to bolster their offense. For a team that finished 82-80 and just six games back of the AL Central crown, that stance says everything about how the Royals view 2026.
Ragans is coming off a season that did not match the numbers he has posted across his career, but his value to Kansas City remains obvious. In 2025, he made 13 starts, logging 61.2 innings with a 4.67 ERA, 98 strikeouts, and a 1.18 WHIP. While that ERA was higher than his career 3.66 mark, the swing-and-miss ability remained intact.
His career numbers, 461 strikeouts across 384 innings with a near-identical 1.19 WHIP, show a pitcher whose long-term production has been far steadier than his most recent season was. The Royals still believe that version of Ragans is in there.
Contractually, the case for keeping Ragans becomes stronger. He is under team control through 2028 after signing a three-year, $13.25 million extension that spans his pre-arbitration and early arbitration years. He will earn $4.5 million in 2026 before larger figures arrive in 2027 and 2028, making him one of the most cost-efficient rotation pieces in the division. For a small-market club building through pitching, having a high-end left-hander locked into reasonable salaries for multiple seasons is not something they can simply replace via trade.
Kansas City Makes Their Position Clear on Ragans
“It would be really difficult for us to trade Cole,” Picollo said earlier this week. “When Cole is right, he’s as good as anybody in the game. It’s rare that you get an opportunity to have somebody like that, and we have him for three more years. It’s fun to talk about, but the reality is, if we didn’t have Cole Ragans in our rotation, we’d feel like we’re missing something really big. When you think about our four pillars, it starts with pitching.”
KC’s GM added, “We’re in a really good spot [with depth], so if the right trade comes along, and it costs us a starting pitcher, we have to look at it. It’s just not going to be Cole.”
The Royals did not reach the postseason last year, but the AL Central continues to be one of baseball’s most winnable divisions. No team consistently separates itself, and seasons can swing quickly. Keeping Ragans signals that Kansas City sees a window to win now, especially with shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. consistently establishing himself as one of MLB’s best players.
If Ragans returns closer to his career norms, the Royals will have a frontline starter anchoring a rotation they hope can help them compete deep into 2026.