SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The text from Cole Ragans to his wife Tori on Tuesday afternoon was short and simple, but the excitement was in the exclamation points.
"I get to start Opening Day!!!!!”
"Like five exclamation points,” Ragans explained later. “It never gets old. It’s always exciting.”
For the third consecutive season, Ragans will be the Royals’ Opening Day starter, a decision not surprising for anyone who has followed Kansas City the past few years but one that affirms yet again the belief the club has in their 28-year-old lefty ace.
"We view him as a frontline starter,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “And we want to get him as many chances to get out there on the mound as we can. We’re obviously going to be better the more starts he makes.”
Ragans has started each of the past two Opening Days in 2024 and '25, and when he takes the mound on March 27 against the Braves in Atlanta, he’ll become the sixth pitcher in Royals history to start on Opening Day in three (or more) consecutive seasons, joining Gil Meche (three, 2007-09), Jeff Suppan (three, 2000-02), Kevin Appier (five, 1992-97), Bud Black (three, 1984-86) and Dennis Leonard (three, 1978-80). The most Opening Day starts by a pitcher (non-consecutive) in Royals history is Appier’s seven starts.
One Opening Day start was a dream come true for Ragans. Now that it will be three?
"It’s something that I don’t take for granted or don’t take lightly,” Ragans said. “Just for them to have the belief in me to go out there and get us going means a lot. My third one in a row is crazy to think about. Never in my dreams would I have thought I’d be able to do this.”
Never did the Royals think that when they acquired Ragans on June 30, 2023, that they would be getting an ace who would start postseason games and several Opening Days for them. They were just happy to acquire a young starter with club control while sending veteran reliever Aroldis Chapman, who was on an expiring contract, to Texas.
That young starter with club control turned into one of the best pitchers in baseball. Since Aug. 1, 2023, Ragans’ 9.2 fWAR ranks third among American League pitchers behind Tarik Skubal (14.9) and Garrett Crochet (10.5). Since 2023, Ragans’ 11.64 strikeout-per-nine ranks second among AL pitchers (min. 300 innings) to Crochet’s 11.8. Ragans was an All-Star in 2024. He started Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, the Royals’ first postseason game in nine seasons. He finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting. He was everything the Royals could dream about in an ace and more.
Buoyed by a contract extension with the Royals, Ragans was looking for more in 2025, only to get hurt early on and miss a combined 100 games on two separate injured list stints with a left groin strain and left rotator cuff strain.
Injuries are not unfamiliar to Ragans, who overcame two Tommy John surgeries in 2018 and '19 as a Rangers prospect. But it hurt not to be on the field with the Royals, and even more so not to help them in a postseason push that ultimately fell short.
Now?
"I’m more motivated than ever,” Ragans said. “Last year didn’t go the way we wanted to, especially me personally and obviously as a team. We want to be in the playoffs, the last team standing. I’ve really buckled down on how I’m eating, my conditioning, my weight room stuff, my throwing program. There’s been a lot of talk that went into it -- nutrition, pitching coaches, strength and conditioning -- of what’s the best way to keep me on the field. And I’ve been hammering this stuff for a while so that now it’s basically implemented right now as the season begins. I needed to figure this out.”
Staying healthy is Ragans’ main goal for 2026 because if he’s healthy, the Royals look more like the team they’re supposed to be. Ragans understands that -- and what he means to this team, as an ace and leader that the clubhouse rallies around when he steps between the white lines. But he also considers himself lucky to be in the clubhouse that he’s in with a team that is trying to win in 2026 and in the future.
"I understand why people say that [about me], but I’m looking at it through a lens of all the other guys on the team,” Ragans said. “We have so many special players on this team. Bobby [Witt Jr.] and Sal [Perez] are the faces of this team. You have Vinnie [Pasquantino], who’s a very outspoken leader. [Seth] Lugo and [Michael] Wacha, quiet leaders who do so much for us behind the scenes.
"I love this place, this team. I’m doing everything I can to win here.”
The Royals’ rotation is coming into more focus, with Ragans the headliner, followed by Lugo, Wacha and Kris Bubic (although not necessarily in that order). With Stephen Kolek sidelined with an oblique strain and Ryan Bergert optioned on Tuesday, it’s looking like Noah Cameron will be in the fifth starter spot, while Bailey Falter could be in more of a swingman role as a long reliever and/or sixth starter to begin the season.