The Kansas City Royals are bracing for bad news that could get worse before it gets any better. Left-hander Cole Ragans is scheduled for elbow surgery on Wednesday, July 1, and nobody can say for sure what kind of timeline we’re looking at until the doctors get inside his elbow and see what’s actually going on.
Dr. Neal ElAttrache will handle the procedure. The exact scope of the surgery will be determined during the operation itself, which is the part that makes this so unsettling for the organization. A simple cleanup might mean Ragans could be back sometime in 2026. A more involved repair — Tommy John, for instance — and you’re probably looking at sometime in 2027 before he throws a meaningful pitch in a big league game.
Ragans hasn’t pitched since early May because of a left elbow impingement. The team tried to get him right with rest and rehab, but that didn’t do the trick. So surgery it is. According to MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, the Royals won’t know the extent of the recovery until they’ve actually gone in and done the work.
The Wait Is the Worst Part
“Cole Ragans will undergo elbow surgery this coming Wednesday (July 1) with Dr. ElAttrache,” Rogers reported on X. “The extent of the surgery will be determined once they get inside and see exactly what’s going on. Once that happens, they’ll have a clearer idea of just how long Ragans will be sidelined.”
That’s a tough spot for a team that’s already in a tough spot. The Royals went into Saturday’s game against the White Sox at 34-49, dead last in the AL Central, and they’d just lost the series opener 22-1. Yes, that’s not a typo. Twenty-two to one.
Ragans had been one of the few bright spots in the rotation before the injury. He struck out 45 batters across eight starts, giving the staff a genuine swing-and-miss arm you could build an afternoon around. Without him, the rotation looks thin and the bullpen looks overexposed.
What Kansas City Does Next
General manager J.J. Picollo and manager Matt Quatraro now have to plan like Ragans won’t be back anytime soon, because he probably won’t be. That means counting on depth arms and maybe getting aggressive about finding help elsewhere — which is easier said than done in July, when every team that’s not tanking wants the same thing.
The timing stings. The Royals are bad this year, but they’re trying to build toward something. Ragans was supposed to be part of that foundation. Now the foundation has a big question mark next to it, and it might stay that way until Wednesday afternoon when Dr. ElAttrache finishes his work and the team finally gets an answer.
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