Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans is set to go under the knife on July 1 for a procedure on his left elbow, according to MLB.com.
Surgeons won’t have a complete picture of the damage until they are actually performing the operation, which will be carried out by Dr. Neal ElAttrache. How long Ragans will be sidelined depends on what doctors discover once the surgery is underway. Royals manager Matt Quatraro confirmed on Tuesday that the procedure is moving forward.
“They’ve read the MRI, but I think they’re not going to be clear on the extent of (the surgery) until they get in there and understand what they see,” Quatraro said.
Ragans had been the team’s Opening Day starting pitcher for each of the past three seasons, but he hasn’t taken the mound in the major leagues since May 6 because of an impingement in his left elbow. He made one rehabilitation start for Triple-A Omaha on May 24, but when his elbow failed to respond well after that outing, he was placed on the 60-day injured list.
On the season, Ragans compiled a 1-4 record with a 4.84 ERA across eight starts. He delivered three standout performances — highlighted by a six-inning, one-hit gem on April 14 at Detroit — but also struggled through two outings in which he gave up more runs than innings he pitched.
Over his career, Ragans holds a 22-24 record with a 3.76 ERA in 91 appearances, including 74 starts. He has been a consistent strikeout threat, averaging 10.86 punchouts per nine innings with 506 strikeouts in 419 and one-third innings pitched.
