Why Trading Cole Ragans Would be a Mistake for Royals

The Kansas City Royals are seemingly making an effort to compete in 2026 given the moves they have made. They have brought in players such as Matt Strahm while also signing Maikel Garcia to a contract extension. Additionally, the Royals have been linked to All-Star players in trade rumors. However, the idea of a Cole Ragans trade has also been mentioned at times.

For example, in early December, B/R Walk-Off suggested a Cole Ragans for Jarren Duran trade. It was just an idea, of course, but it has not been the only time a Ragans trade idea was suggested.

Trading Ragans this offseason would be a mistake, however.

Ragans, 28, was an All-Star in 2024. It was a tremendous season for the southpaw, as he ended up pitching to a stellar 3.14 ERA across 32 outings. Ragans added 223 strikeouts in his 186.1 innings of work. He ultimately finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting.

Not only did he struggle in 2025, though, but Ragans appeared in only 13 games as he dealt with injury concerns.

Moving on from Ragans now would mean receiving less value than the Royals could get if he was fresh off a strong year. He is under contract through 2027 and team control through 2028, so there is no reason to trade him at the moment.

Of course, if the Royals do not agree to a contract extension with Ragans and he pitches well in 2026, then moving on from him next offseason could make sense. His trade value would increase and there would be more urgency to get something in return for him — as opposed to losing him in free agency in the future.

This offseason is not the time to move on from Ragans. Additionally, Kansas City is seemingly hoping to compete. Ragans features the ceiling of an ace-caliber pitcher. His presence in the starting rotation will only help the Royals reach their goals in 2026 — as long as injuries do not prove to be too much of an obstacle.

Between Cole Ragans’ down 2025 season, his contract status, and the Royals’ apparent desire to compete, trading the left-handed starter this offseason would not be the best move. Kansas City needs to keep Ragans on the roster and see what he can accomplish with the ball club during the upcoming ’26 campaign.

‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’

‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source ca.sports.yahoo.com ’