How Ragans became a Royal

The year 2023 for the Royals was an awful one. The team lost an eye popping 106 games, but not everything the team did last season was awful. 
Kansas City signed former Yankees all-star closer Aroldis Chapman to a one-year deal in hopes of a bounce back year from the veteran. The gamble paid off big time for the Royals who were able to flip him at the deadline to the Rangers for a pair of players in outfielder Roni Cabrera and pitcher Cole Ragans. This trade shook the baseball world and rightfully so.
On June 30, 2023 the Royals acquired pitcher Cole Ragans. Ragans was selected by the Rangers in the first round (30th overall) of the 2016 MLB Draft. Texas had high hopes for the left-hander, but the team couldn't tap into his great stuff.
easy. First, we feel for the young players. We know the work they put in and try to understand where they are emotionally. Secondly, for the organization's development, that's a pretty big body blow." 
While down on the farm with the Rangers, the left-hander won the Nolan Ryan Pitcher of the Year award. The Ragans trade backfired on the Rangers rather quickly, but Texas did defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series. Ragans, while with the Rangers, seemed to have been forgotten about by fans with a team that had great pitchers in Jacob DeGrom and Jon Gray.
The Royals decision to flip Aroldis Chapman to Texas for Cole Ragans may have changed the Royals pitching staff for years to come. The team's coaching staff believed in Ragans from his arrival to the Royals. According to The Emporia Gazette, the team believed the slider would help the lefthander greatly: "As a pitching team, we said the cutter’s great, but he needs something with a little more depth — a gyro slider — to really help him build out versus righties and lefties,” Sweeney said. “Because it’s a platoon-neutral kind of pitch for him that he can use to both sides.”
The Royals have certainly seemed to have found their number one. The 26-year old this early in his career has already been considered by some as a potential CY Young candidate. According to former Indians pitcher Jensen Lewis he believes the flamethrower could be a Cy Young winner in the future: "I'll take him as a dark horse, I'll take Cole Ragans to finish in the top three in the American League Cy Young race, he's even got an outside chance of winning it." 
The end of the 2023 season for the left-hander was a great one. In only 12 games he posted an ERA of 2.64; but the beginning of this season was a disappointing one with an ERA at 5.92. Since the rough start, the left-hander has bounced back and shown he can be an ace for this Kansas City ballclub. Ragans now owns an ERA a little above 3.00. 
The team has control over Ragans until the year 2029 when he has the opportunity to test the free agent market. Under general manager J.J Picollo, the front office has shown they are willing to take risks to give young players long term deals with Bobby Witt Jr signing a massive 11-year deal worth an eye opening $288.8 million. The Royals are very likely not to rush to sign the left-hander to a long term contract with his injury history and having years of control remaining. 
Finally, if Ragans can continue his dominance, he could be among the best pitchers in the modern game. 










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