Cole Ragans Suffers Rehab Set Back; Will Be Shut Down For a Couple of Days

[Kevin O'Brien]

 

On Monday, before their series-opening game against the Yankees on Monday, manager Matt Quatraro shared some deflating news regarding pitcher Cole Ragans, who's been on the IL since May 7th due to a left elbow impingement.

Anne Rogers reported that he didn't bounce back from his rehab outing in Omaha and that he would need to be shut down for 2-3 days before being re-evaluated. It seemed like this elbow issue flared up after he pitched, not during his outing in Triple-A. 

Joel Penfield of KC Sports Network shared video of Quatraro's comments in the dugout during the pregame presser. 

 

It's been a challenging year for Ragans, who's struggled with injuries and inconsistency for a second straight season. He has a 4.84 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in eight starts and 35.1 IP. His K rate is solid at 29.8%, but his walk rate is 15.2%, nearly double his rate from a season ago (7.8% BB%). 

When looking at his TJ Stuff+ summary from this year, Ragans is still generating whiffs at a solid rate (31.7%), and his TJ Stuff+ data is solid overall (104). However, he has struggled to find the strike zone and generate chase, and has allowed a lot of hard contact, as seen in the summary below.

Ragans had an encouraging outing on Sunday for Omaha, as he went 4.1 IP and allowed only three hits, one run, and one walk while striking out three (he also had 10 whiffs). The TJ Stuff+ metrics also looked solid in his outing as well, especially in the TJ Stuff+, chase, and xwOBACON areas. 

Ragans will likely need more time on the IL as he sorts through this latest setback. The Royals are planning to have another bullpen game on Tuesday, with Bailey Falter as the opener. That said, if they need someone to start in Ragans' spot, they could opt for Mitch Spence, who's on the 40-man roster and currently pitching in Triple-A Omaha. 

Spence has only made one outing with the Royals this year, and it was a rough one where he allowed six runs on four hits and five walks while striking out three against the Yankees in the Bronx. That said, he's been more serviceable in Omaha, as evidenced by his 4.80 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 3.88 FIP in 30 IP. He has also demonstrated solid TJ Stuff+ metrics with the Storm Chasers, as shown in his summary below.

Whether the Royals will opt for Spence or another bullpen game next week will depend on Ragans' status, which hopefully will become clearer by the end of this week.

 

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