Royals 'Lopsided' Trade With Rangers Netted One Of 2024's Breakout Stars, Per Insider

The trade that keeps on giving for K.C.

Sep 24, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans (55) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Things were looking bleak for the Kansas City Royals. They had lost seven in a row, their playoff odds had plummeted, and they were being held scoreless for a third-straight game by the lowly Washington Nationals.

Fortunately, they had Cole Ragans on the mound.

With seven scoreless innings on Tuesday night, Ragans helped the Royals get off the schneid, taking their first win in 10 days and gaining a game of separation from the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card hunt. With five games to go, Kansas City is two games clear of the floundering Twins.

Ragans arrived in a trade with the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers in 2023, in exchange for lefty reliever Aroldis Chapman. And though Chapman played a role in the Rangers winning it all, the Royals have to be over the moon with what Ragans has given them in return.

On Wednesday, insider Jim Bowden of The Athletic heaped praise on the Royals for the Ragans trade, while naming the lefty as his number-six breakout star of the 2024 season.

The Royals’ lopsided 2023 trade with the Rangers that landed Cole Ragans for Aroldis Chapman keeps looking better and better," Bowden said. "In his third year in the majors, Ragans has gone 11-9 with a 3.14 ERA and 223 strikeouts in a league-high 32 starts."

Ragans wasn't even a full-time starter before he arrived in Kansas City, but his numbers since the trade have been incredible. The 26-year-old has a 16-11 record, 3.00 ERA, 2.85 FIP, and 312 strikeouts in his 44 starts as a Royal. He was named a first-time All-Star this summer.

Though he looked great in 12 starts with the Royals after the trade this season, there was no guarantee Ragans would be able to replicate his success in his first full year as a starter, especially considering his two Tommy John surgeries in years past. But he has delivered, and then some.

Now, Ragans looks like a fixture of the Royals' rotation for many years to come. And with any luck, he'll get his first crack at the playoffs in about a week's time.

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