Kansas City Royals star Cole Ragans is set to undergo another elbow surgery.
On Tuesday, Royals manager Matt Quatraro said that Ragans is likely to have a surgical procedure. He didn’t specify the exact type as Ragans is set to meet with more doctors.
“We anticipate it being a surgical procedure. We don’t know, as of right now, what it means. He’s got to see another doctor as well, but we anticipate it being surgical,” Quatraro said.
Ragans is currently on the 60-day injured list with a left elbow impingement stemming from Valgus Extension Overload (VEO). He hasn’t pitched since May 6 against the Cleveland Guardians.
In recent weeks, Ragans had progressed to pitching in rehab games. However, his arm didn’t respond well to the increased activity.
He was shut down for a while before ramping back up on the mound. On June 10, Ragans threw a 23-pitch bullpen but didn’t respond afterward.
This time, Ragans woke up with more discomfort and couldn’t finish playing catch the following day.
It alerted the Royals to seek another medical opinion. Now, Ragans could be sidelined for the foreseeable future.
“It’s awful,” Quatraro said. “And we talk about it all the time when guys get hurt. These guys grind and work year-round to put themselves in the best position to go out there and compete. Clearly, it’s a blow for him and for us. I mean, our opening day starter the last few years. And that’s a really tough one to swallow for him and his family.”
Ragans has dealt with elbow injuries before. He underwent Tommy John surgery twice prior to joining the Royals.
The Royals acquired him in a trade with the Texas Rangers in 2023. He went on to become an All-Star a year later and emerged as the club’s ace pitcher.
This season, Ragans owns a 4.84 ERA in eight starts.
The Royals didn’t reveal immediate next steps. Ragans will have his next doctor’s appointment soon and the club will know more after.
Ragans is among multiple Royals on the injured list. KC is also without key position players Maikel Garcia, Jonathan India, Vinnie Pasquantino and Kyle Isbel. The club is also missing left-handed starter Kris Bubic and top relievers Carlos Estévez and Nick Mears.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.kansascity.com ’
