{"id":1956728,"date":"2025-08-12T21:11:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T21:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1956728"},"modified":"2025-08-12T21:11:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T21:11:18","slug":"royals-cole-ragans-takes-major-step-toward-return-for-kcs-playoff-chase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/royals-cole-ragans-takes-major-step-toward-return-for-kcs-playoff-chase\/","title":{"rendered":"Royals&#8217; Cole Ragans Takes Major Step Toward Return For KC&#8217;s Playoff Chase"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"style_hfl21i-o_O-style_uhlm2\"\/>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_q0fz2qg93\">The Kansas City Royals could certainly use some good injury news, and their Opening Day starter taking a positive step toward a return to the mound qualifies. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_lu6c7sv48\">Cole Ragans has been out since Jun. 5, when he left a start after three innings due to a rotator cuff strain. The lefty, who was an All-Star and fourth-place Cy Young Award finisher in 2024, has been a key loss for the Royals, who are trying to remain on the fringes of the playoff race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_zpzpqsp2g\">Ragans doesn&#8217;t appear to be close to a return by any means, but he finally cleared a major procedural hurdle on Tuesday when he threw off a mound for the first time. Now, the race against time begins.<\/p>\n<div data-mm-id=\"_qgzgjk4le\" class=\"\">\n<div class=\"style_120ff32\">\n<figure data-id=\"_qgzgjk4le\" class=\"base_1ruub6q\" data-mm-type=\"image\"><canvas class=\"style_1e28o3x-o_O-initial_9vayoh\"\/><picture class=\"base_1emrqjj-o_O-initial_fzbddc-o_O-style_1a1csmw\"><source\/><source\/><source\/><img class=\"base_1emrqjj-o_O-initial_fzbddc-o_O-style_1a1csmw\" alt=\"Cole Ragans\" title=\"Cole Ragans\"\/><\/picture><noscript><picture class=\"base_1emrqjj\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_5138,h_2890,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k2fxz3btk7hh5xfxm2.jpg 1x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_5138,h_2890,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k2fxz3btk7hh5xfxm2.jpg 2x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_5138,h_2890,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k2fxz3btk7hh5xfxm2.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 719px)\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_5138,h_2890,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_620,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k2fxz3btk7hh5xfxm2.jpg 1x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_5138,h_2890,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_1240,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k2fxz3btk7hh5xfxm2.jpg 2x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_5138,h_2890,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_1240,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k2fxz3btk7hh5xfxm2.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 1079px)\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_5138,h_2890,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_620,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k2fxz3btk7hh5xfxm2.jpg 1x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_5138,h_2890,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_1240,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k2fxz3btk7hh5xfxm2.jpg 2x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_5138,h_2890,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_1240,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k2fxz3btk7hh5xfxm2.jpg 3x\" media=\"(min-width: 1080px)\"\/><\/picture><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p><figcaption class=\"tagStyle_1ulimm5-o_O-text_1j8vahs\">Apr 13, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans (55) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images \/ David Dermer-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_bnlicy03r\">The season is winding down faster than you might think &#8212; Royals starters will likely get eight to nine more starts apiece, and the regular season is only seven weeks long at this point. Ragans has a long way still to go, and a lot of boxes still to check, to make his return in September.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_gmsl6yx20\">On Tuesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com discussed Ragans&#8217; bullpen, emphasizing that the 27-year-old <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_1gn6yjz\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/stories\/reporter-s-mailbag-latest-royals-updates\" target=\"_blank\">wouldn&#8217;t even be at the point<\/a> where a return was under consideration until some time in September.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_dvsvfgqzk\">&#8220;It&#8217;s a big day for Cole Ragans as he takes the next step in his recovery from a left rotator cuff strain,&#8221; Rogers said. &#8220;Ragans will be throwing a bullpen session on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium, which is the first time the lefty will be throwing off a mound since he suffered the injury back in June.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_sjil4fosk\">&#8220;This is just the first step in Ragans&#8217; build-up, so it will still take some time before we potentially see him back here. He&#8217;ll have to do bullpens, live (batting practices), and then a rehab assignment. But it will be September by the time we&#8217;re talking about a return, it&#8217;s still a good first step.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_619roz5k9\">In 10 outings before the injury, Ragans had a 5.18 ERA in 48 2\/3 innings. His 2.43 FIP shows that he was the victim of some bad luck, though, and he was striking out an incredible 14.1 batters per ninne innings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_fbh6f49t6\">The Royals can keep holding onto hope that Ragans will impact their improbable playoff chase, but they&#8217;re certainly going to have to lean on their other starters in case there&#8217;s any sort of setback.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_3e2qprkhz\"><em><strong>More MLB: <\/strong><\/em><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_1gn6yjz\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/royals\/news\/did-royals-mike-yastrzemski-just-hint-at-return-to-giants-in-free-agency-jackson3\"><em><strong>Did Royals&#8217; Mike Yastrzemski Just Hint At Return To Giants In Free Agency?<\/strong><\/em><\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kansas City Royals could certainly use some good injury news, and their Opening Day starter taking a positive step toward a return to the mound qualifies. Cole Ragans has been out since Jun. 5, when he left a start after three innings due to a rotator cuff strain. The lefty, who was an All-Star [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1956729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1956728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Royals-Cole-Ragans-Takes-Major-Step-Toward-Return-For-KCs.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1956728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1956728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1956728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1956729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1956728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1956728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1956728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}