Royals $13 Million All-Star Predicted To Make First All-MLB Appearance In 2025
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The Kansas City Royals made one of the best trades of the decade so far back in 2023, and they're still just beginning to reap the rewards.
At the trade deadline that year, the last-place Royals sent fireballing reliever Aroldis Chapman to the Texas Rangers, who went on to win the World Series. But the pitcher they got back has been far more valuable to Kansas City than Chapman ever could have been.
Cole Ragans has been a sensation ever since arriving in Kansas City. He's compiled a 3.05 ERA in 45 appearances in a Royals uniform, all starts, while striking out 315 batters in just 263 innings.
Ragans finished fourth in Cy Young Award voting last season, and the Royals rewarded him with a three-year, $13.25 million extension that bought out two years of arbitration this spring. But a group of MLB experts evidently believes even bigger things are on the horizon in 2025.
On Tuesday, a panel of MLB.com site experts predicted that Ragans would make the All-MLB second team in 2025, a feat he likely missed out on by the slimmest of margins last season.
"The second team predictions feature names that could all certainly be first team candidates as well," Randwaha wrote. "Ragans had a breakout campaign for Kansas City, finishing fourth in AL Cy Young Award balloting last year."
The 27-year-old Ragans is being counted upon to shoulder ace duties in 2025, something he shared with unexpected breakout star Seth Lugo last season. The Royals would love to believe Lugo can repeat his own second-place Cy Young finish, but they aren't banking on it like they are with Ragans.
Ragans will take the ball for his second start of the season on Wednesday, looking to give the Royals a series win over the Milwaukee Brewers. First pitch is at 12:10 p.m. CST.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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