Out since May, Royals ace Cole Ragans to meet with additional doctor about elbow
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Royals will have Ragans see another doctor for his left elbow VEO.
- Ragans was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 8 after exiting May 6 start.
- The Royals will meet with Dr. Key and another doctor together to evaluate Ragans.
Sidelined Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans will seek a second medical consultation as he deals with Valgus Extension Overload (VEO) in his left elbow.
The left-handed Ragans was placed on the 15-day injured list May 8, two days after exiting early from a start against the Cleveland Guardians.
Ragans made initial progress in his rehabilitation and was cleared to make a rehab start on May 23 with Triple-A Omaha. He allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings but didn’t recover well after the outing.
After missed a few more days, Ragans had recovered well enough that he was able to return to the mound in a limited capacity. He threw a 23-pitch bullpen session on June 10.
The next morning, however, he awoke with discomfort in the arm. He couldn’t make it through playing catch on the field.
Now, the Royals want to understand more about the pitcher’s case of VEO.
“Ragans met with Dr. (Vincent) Key yesterday,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Tuesday. “He’s still having symptoms, so he’ll continue to be shut down. And we’re going to have him see another doctor in the next couple of days.
“So hopefully we can get a concrete answer on what’s going on.”
Ragans has a 4.84 ERA in eight starts this season. He has registered 45 strikeouts and 23 walks while allowing 10 home runs in 35 1/3 innings.
The Royals’ rotation is currently also missing starters Seth Lugo (concussion) and Kris Bubic (elbow). But Ragans’ injury may be the most concerning because of the amount of time he has missed
“I don’t have a specific answer on what the MRI showed,” Quatraro said. “I know that he is still having symptoms and they want to get a fresh set of eyes on it, as well. Then (we’ll) meet with Dr. Key, him and everybody together before we figure out what’s going on.”
Ragans has experienced multiple injuries in his career. He overcame two Tommy John surgeries and other minor pains. But this elbow impingement has lingered and the Royals want more clarity about it.
“The longer it takes, the more concerning it gets,” Quatraro said.
