History could unfortunately be repeating itself for Royals after latest Cole Ragans injury update

The Kansas City Royals issued the news that many were likely expecting regarding their ace Cole Ragans, officially announcing that they'd placed him on the 15-day IL on Friday with a left elbow impingement. This comes after Ragans was mysteriously pulled from his Wednesday start against the Guardians after just three innings of scoreless ball with what was later called tricep and elbow soreness.

At first glance a 15-day IL stint doesn't look like the worst thing in the world, especially considering the dreaded Tommy John surgery has not been officially mentioned to this point. Annge Rogers of MLB.com reported that Ragans has "valgus extension overload in his elbow". She even offered some reassuring insight that could counter the thought Ragans could be on a completely bleak injury path.

"Ragans is not the first pitcher on the Royals’ injured list with VEO this season – lefty reliever Bailey Falter has been sidelined with the same injury since April 3," Rogers wrote. "He was shut down for a few days but threw a bullpen on April 8 and began a rehab assignment on April 15."

"The two pitchers might not have the exact same severity or timeline, but Falter’s case could provide some insight into how the next few days might go for Ragans," she also wrote.

However, when it comes to Ragans, an unfortunate sense of déjà vu seems entirely natural at this point. Not only is Ragans a two-time Tommy John surgery recipient already, but he's coming off a year that was plagued by injury and for the most part taken away from him. In 2025, he made just 13 starts after spending two separate stints on the IL - one because of a groin strain, the other because of a rotator cuff strain.

In a year where many hoped Ragans would return to the peak of his powers as a Cy Young contender, he's looking more poised to repeat his forgettable 2025 season each passing day.

Ragans' injury forces Royals to turn to Stephen Kolek once again

This week, after Noah Cameron missed his start due to back tightness, the Royals called upon their now narrow depth, as Stephen Kolek came into the game as a spot starter. And as Kolek has done time and time again, in fact every time he's taken the mound as a Royal since last season's trade deadline, he delivered.

Kolek looked strong in his season debut on Tuesday, which also happened to be his return from the IL. He'd end up going six innings of three-run ball, giving up just four hits an no walks while picking up a trio of strikeouts in the process. This comes after the 2025 season, where in his five starts in KC, he threw to a 1.91, 2.71 FIP, 0.76 WHIP and .167 BAA.

The 29-year-old right-hander has proved that he deserves to be in this spot, regardless of injury circumstances. Tangible changes to his arsenal that really created a fifth starter battle with the likes of names like the near AL Rookie of the Year finalist in Cameron in spring training before Kolek unfortunately landed on the injured list with an oblique injury after just one Cactus League start.

Now the question is who's next for Kansas City, as beyond Mitch Spence, their starter depth sitting in Omaha looks pretty barren after the season-ending diagnoses to both Ryan Bergert and Ben Kudrna. Hopefully, Cameron can come back in time and not hit the IL himself and the Royals will have a moment before needing to think about that decision.

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