Royals reward Ragans with new 3-year contract

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Royals are giving one of their best young players a big raise and contract security, announcing a new three-year contract with starter Cole Ragans on Friday evening.

The deal is worth $13.25 million, sources told MLB.com.

In a deal that came together just in the three days before the Royals began Spring Training in Surprise, the team bought out two of Ragans¡¯ arbitration years, giving him a new deal that runs through 2027.

Because he was a pre-arb player before this contract -- meaning he wasn¡¯t arbitration-eligible this past offseason -- Ragans will have one more year of arbitration before becoming a free agent after the ¡®28 season.

¡°It gives me a little security, but at the same time, I get to know for sure I¡¯ll be here, I hope, for however long,¡± Ragans said Saturday morning. ¡°I love Kansas City. I hope I¡¯m here for forever. It¡¯s a special place.¡±

According to a source, Ragans received a $250,000 signing bonus and will make $1 million this season. His salary jumps up to $4.5 million in ¡®26 -- what would have been his first arb-eligible season -- and then $7.5 million in ¡®27. If Ragans, who finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting in 2024, wins the Cy Young this year or next, his ¡®27 salary would rise to $8 million.

The money is fairly on par with the raises Ragans would have likely made in the arb system; if he replicated his 2024 season with down-ballot Cy Young votes, his first season of arb-eligibility could have been around $4 million to $5 million. A regression would have brought that number down, so the Royals and Ragans landed in the middle.

Plus, Ragans still has another year of arbitration eligibility in 2028 to get an even bigger raise if he stays on a similar trajectory.

But guaranteeing money now made sense for both team and player.

¡°Cole¡¯s very grounded in who he is,¡± general manager J.J. Picollo said. ¡°He¡¯s very prepared, we know he¡¯s going to have a great year, but things like this can weigh on people¡¯s minds. Not that he ever expressed anything like that, but now he can go to bed every night with peace of mind that there¡¯s security, and he can just go out and pitch. That¡¯s really ultimately what we want him to do.¡±

Ragans, 27, is among the best starters in the game right now and has grown into an ace for a rising Royals team. He was already under control for the next several years, but buying out some arb years and guaranteeing money for another young player is more evidence of the Royals¡¯ intention of building a sustainable winner.

It spreads goodwill throughout the organization for a player beloved in the clubhouse, evidenced Saturday as his teammates like Salvador Perez and Michael Wacha gave Ragans congratulatory hugs -- and a few jabs from others about being on the hook for team dinners.

Now two of the Royals' best young players are on guaranteed contracts, with Bobby Witt Jr. signing his long-term extension at the beginning of 2024. There are other candidates on the roster who would make sense for a similar deal as Ragans, Picollo said, although he didn¡¯t mention any names.

¡°It¡¯s an unbelievable group of people,¡± Ragans said about Kansas City. ¡°The front office, to the fans, to my teammates. It¡¯s a great group of guys. My wife loves it, all the wives are unbelievable.

¡°It felt like home really quickly, and I feel like that¡¯s not the case everywhere.¡±

The Royals acquired Ragans before the Trade Deadline in 2023, sending reliever Aroldis Chapman to the Rangers. They were excited about getting a young starter in Ragans, who had been a first-round pick in 2016 but had been sidelined with two Tommy John surgeries during his Minor League career. There was potential, for sure, but the Royals didn¡¯t know how it would play out.

They certainly didn¡¯t know at the time they were acquiring a pitcher who would grow into an ace and someone to build around in the rotation.

The Royals and Kansas City embraced Ragans, especially as he jumped onto the radar with his stellar second half in 2023, posting a 2.64 ERA and winning American League Pitcher of the Month honors in August.

He followed it up with a 3.14 ERA in 2024, striking out 223 batters across 186 1/3 innings. Last season saw Ragans make his first Opening Day start, his first All-Star Game and his first postseason nod, starting Game 1 of the Royals' first playoff game since 2015 when he took the mound against the Orioles in the AL Wild Card Series. Ragans made two starts last October, allowing one run in 10 innings.

Ragans mentioned Saturday that ensuring his salary for the next three years helps the Royals plan for the future, too, knowing what their payroll might look like and how they can add to the team.

¡°They know what¡¯s on the books and that kind of stuff, so they can go get some other guys if that¡¯s what they want to do, try to put the best team on the field to win,¡± Ragans said. ¡°That¡¯s our end goal, to win a championship.¡±

The Royals aren¡¯t shutting the door on a long-term extension for Ragans either.

It¡¯s clear how much Ragans loves Kansas City -- and how much Kansas City loves him back.

¡°The best thing about this is that it doesn¡¯t remove the ability to talk about that in the future, because we still have a long time,¡± Picollo said. ¡°... I shared with Cole: ¡®This doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re closing the door on anything long term. This just gives you the ability to have peace of mind every day when you come to the field. So don¡¯t read into this at all that we¡¯re not thinking about anything long term.¡¯ That¡¯s certainly something we¡¯ll consider.¡±