How Cole Ragans’ contract extension came together — and why Royals believe in his future
Kansas City Royals starter Cole Ragans spent Friday night sifting through more than 100 text messages.
It comes with the territory surrounding breaking news. The Royals ace was the top headline around MLB circles as he agreed to a new three-year contract extension.
“My mom screamed and my dad was super excited,” Ragans said. “I might have shed a tear, but both were very excited for my wife and I.”
Ragans, 27, got a significant raise with the Royals. The club handed him a $13.25 million agreement that covers the 2025 season and his first two years of salary arbitration.
More importantly, Ragans will remain in Kansas City through the 2028 season.
“I always say I love Kansas City and I love everything about it,” Ragans said, “from the fans to the city and my teammates.”
Several teammates congratulated Ragans ahead of the Royals’ workout on Saturday. He got a big hug from captain Salvador Perez and received special requests for a nice team dinner on his dime.
“That’s what everyone is talking about,” Ragans said with a laugh. “I will gladly buy a team dinner without a doubt.”
The Royals acquired Ragans from the Texas Rangers in 2023. KC traded away former All-Star reliever Aroldis Chapman in the deal. At the time, the Royals were intrigued with Ragans and his potential to be a front-line starter.
However, there was some risk attached to the trade. Ragans underwent Tommy John surgery twice and didn’t have a ton of MLB experience. The Royals believed in his pitching metrics and decided to pursue the deal.
“We knew we were acquiring a starting pitcher that had a lot of ability that our scouts liked from an analytic piece,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. “We thought he was moving in the right direction for various reasons. But there are things that happened along the way that we couldn’t have predicted.”
One of those things was Ragans’ development. After joining the Royals, Ragans improved his slider in Triple-A and added it to his regular arsenal. He also was motivated to prove the Royals right for acquiring him.
Ragans worked with Tread Athletics in the offseason. He receives workout plans each year to build his strength and other pitching tools. Ragans saw his average fastball velocity increase from 92 mph to 96 mph during the 2023 season.
From there, Ragans quickly ascended atop the rotation. He posted a 2.64 ERA in his first 12 starts. Last season, he built upon those numbers and finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting.
Ragans also became a first-time All-Star and recorded 223 strikeouts in a career-high 186 ⅓ innings pitched.
“So is he what we hoped and more? Yeah, he is,” Picollo said. “I mean, you are talking about a Cy Young Award finalist and an All-Star. You know, he threw opening day for us last year and the first game of the playoffs. He pitched extremely well in the playoffs. I think it was one run in two starts. If you would’ve told us in 2023 that was going to happen, then we would be ecstatic.”
Ragans also credited the relationships he built along the way. He has a great bond with Perez and veteran teammates Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha. He also has leaned on pitching coaches Brian Sweeney and Zach Bove.
There are open conversations between Ragans and the Royals. He enjoys the learning and remains in lockstep with the club in wanting to win.
“It’s easy to talk to them about pitch design or a sequence or something like that,” Ragans said. “They work hard at what they do, too, and they want to win just as bad as us. They are going to do everything to help us as much as they can.”
Ragans will enter his third season with the Royals. The contract extension came together quickly this week. The Royals met with his representation and hammered out a deal that made sense for both sides.
“It gives me a little security and ... they kind of know what’s on the books,” Ragans said. “You know, (they can) get some other guys if that’s what they want to do and try to put the best team on the field to win. That’s our end goal — to win a championship.”
The Royals look to return to the postseason in 2025. They fell short in the ALDS against the New York Yankees after finishing 86-76 in the regular season.
The playoff experience has generated extra motivation. KC retained Wacha and fellow starter Michael Lorenzen this offseason. The Royals acquired infielder Jonathan India and reliever Carlos Estévez in separate moves.
Ragans is a key part of the Royals’ core — and a guy teammates continue to root for.
“(I’m) pumped,” reliever Chris Stratton said. “Nobody more deserving. Nobody works harder in this locker room than him. Just the course of his career and how it’s been a very winding path, you know, the two TJs and trying to battle back from that. You never want anybody to deal with that, especially two (surgeries). I’m sure it’s a lot mentally more than anything. But he stayed with it and stayed on his path.”
KC has handed contract extensions to young players over the last two offseasons. Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. got a record contract worth $288.7 million prior to the 2024 campaign.
Ragans is under club control until the 2028 season. He could still be in line for another contract extension as he continues his Royals tenure.
“He will be in a Royals uniform for four more years and we know that,” Picollo said. “That was something, after we had come to an agreement, I shared with Cole: This doesn’t mean we are closing the door on anything long term. This just gives you the ability to have peace of mind every day you come to the field.”
Ragans now has his sights set on bringing a title back to Kansas City. His goals haven’t changed, and he’s where he wants to be.
“Win,” Ragans said of his mindset. “That’s my mentality every day: to win, whether that be a PFP (pitcher fielding position) competition or game time. Our end goal is to win a championship and bring a championship back to Kansas City.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2025 at 3:19 PM.
