Why the Royals won’t move Cole Ragans | Kansas City Royals Podcast

Why the Royals won’t move Cole Ragans | Kansas City Royals Podcast

Would the Royals ever trade Cole Reagan’s if the deal was right? We’ll give you our thoughts next on Locked on Royals. You are Locked on Royals, your daily Kansas City Royals podcast, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. You are tuning in to another edition of Lockdown Royals and the Locked On Network. I’m your host, Jack Johnson, and you can find me on Twitter at johnnyj_15. That is jhnyj_15. And you can listen to us on wherever you download your podcast. That can be Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, Odyssey, and YouTube. Just be sure to hit the follow button and subscribe. For you first-time listeners wondering what to expect each and every week from this channel, well, from now until December 15th, we will be bringing you five episodes a week. So, coming up in about two weeks, we’ll be dropping down to three episodes a week, but that’ll only last for about a month and a half cuz right as spring training rolls around, that’s when we’ll gear back up for five episodes a week, and you’re going to be getting that for the rest of the year. Now, before we get started, want to tell you that today’s show is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code lockdown MLB for $20 off on your first purchase. as we said that in two weeks we’ll be dropping down to three episodes a week. It doesn’t always mean we’re going to be staying to three episodes a week because in two weeks it’ll be the winter meetings when some deals, you know, really start to know be brought to everybody’s attention. Maybe some deals actually happen. The hot stove, as I should say, heats up and the Royals might be one of those teams that are involved in a big-time deal during the winter meetings or shortly after. So even though we’ll have three episodes, if there’s a deal that’s happened and we’ve already had three episodes that week, we got no issue doing four or five to meet that requirement of just making sure that everybody will be taken care of on this channel. And one deal that we’re going to be discussing in this first episode or first segment today and first episode of the week is the one that was rumored to maybe be discussed, you know, over the last couple of weeks, which involved the Boston Red Sox and your Kansas City Royals. We know that the Royals and Red Sox match up on paper very, very well. The Red Sox have a couple of outfielders. They would be looking to move if they got controllable starting pitching. The Royals have controllable starting pitching and if they are going to deal with Boston, it’s not going to be for a true four or five outfielder or fourth or fifth outfielder I should say. It’ll be for a Jiren Durant or a willu and depending on what the return would be maybe even more than that. But the article that was floated out by the Boston Globe that you know JJ Bolo was quoted in this article that you know nobody is really off limits on their roster which I feel is the right way to go about it. I feel deep down there are untouchables guys that you would have to just give up basically you know top prospects in your system and star players on your big league roster. That to me is untouchable. Right? You don’t need to say that Bobby Wood Jr. is untouchable. you can just say everybody’s on the table here. We have to be blown away by an offer. It’s it’s kind of that way of negotiating. And Cole Reagan’s appeared to be one of those guys that was off limits. Uh but also not quite in the same category as Bobby Wood Jr. I feel if Boston approached Kansas City with a deal that involved Jiren Durant um you have you know Payton Tolley too who got called up late in the season can run it up at 100. Uh you have uh Connelly Early or Elely I believe who started in the wildard game, you know, a 21 22 year old left-hander that was on their postseason roster and starting an elimination game and they threw in a Christian Campbell. I know that’s way too much for Boston, which we already discussed in last night’s episode, our very late edition of a a mailbag Sunday, but that’s what I’m hinting at here with Cole Reagan’s. No, the Royals, in my opinion, it would be foolish to turn down a deal like that if they got two high upside controllable starting pitchers, Jiren Durant and then some for Cole Reagan. As much as the Royals love Cole Reagan, as much as I love Cole Reagan, everybody that listens to this podcast love Cole Reagan’s and know the upside of him, you get three or four players in return, you can’t turn that away. But that leads us back into this point of how likely is that really? And I would say that’s incredibly unlikely. So even though I might have just put a lot of hope out there in the first five minutes of this episode, it’s why it’s leading me to believe, you know, Cole Reagan is not going to be involved with a deal uh in the in the Boston Red Sox are going to be involved in any discussions, or I should say deep discussions. He can be involved in discussions, but not ones that you know go further than let’s toss out some names here. Cuz Boston may have their sight set on Cole Reagan’s and they could have their sight set on Cole Reagan’s for months. Eventually, somebody’s going to have to cave in to that deal or these sides are going to go their separate ways and they’re going to try to upgrade elsewhere. I mean, it’s early enough in the offseason where you can shoot for the moon. We used the analogy last night of when you go into your boss’s office and you’re asking for a raise, you don’t immediately ask what you were expecting to make or what it was going to be dwindled down to. You ask for maybe 20,000 more than you were expecting or 30,000 more. And to me, that’s what both Kansas City and Boston are doing in these discussions. if you’re the Royals, why not throw out there, you know, we’ll want Jiren Durant, but we’re only going to give you Steven Kolick, right? And Boston’s going to say no to that. And they’re going to say, well, if you want Jiren Durant, we want Cole Reagan’s and we want Blake Mitchell. You’re going to turn that down in a heartbeat. So, you you kind of go back and forth and see which side might cave in a little bit. Which side might get desperate? And I don’t see either of these sides being desperate. But what the asking price has been, you know, on both of these sides, it’s been astronomical. Well, let’s all be very real here. Now, these have not been trades uh even thrown out there on Twitter, whether it be a burner account, it be a reporter, it just be, you know, somebody on MLB Network throwing out what they may like. None of those deals really line up because a player is never as valuable as their own fans and sometimes even their own GMs think they are. Right. Cole Reagan’s is a tremendous talent. the Royals will will always be able to have that badge of trading a you know aged aldish Chapman who threw 30 innings for the Royals for Cole Reagan who then won them a playoff start single-handedly and was a big part in them moving on to the ALDS and was a big part they were even in the postseason in the first place but you’re you’re a team like Boston and you’ll say well that was great and that’s what we hope for if we got Cole Reagan’s right if we had this blockbuster deal and we were able to land a guy like him. We’re looking the 2024 and that version of him and saying do that again in 2026. There’s also the reality he’s a 2025 version of himself and he’s banged up. He has two separate injuries. The RA was over five for the majority of the time that he was healthyish. Right? So that’s why I’m saying Cole Reagan’s as great as he is, he is the ace of this baseball team, and I expect him to be the Royals opening day starter in Atlanta coming up in in March. Like I I’ve not wavered on that even in the slightest. But if you’re the Royals, you’re not, you know, asking around the league and what they may give up for Cole Reagan, and you’re not going to be treating him like Paul Ske or Terk Scooel. Even though Cole Reagan’s was closer to Terk Scubble in 2024, he’s not going into 2026. So that’s what I’m saying for most teams out there. You can say, you know, they’re absolutely untouchable. We’re not moving them. But you need to listen to offers out there. And that’s what I think the Royals may be doing and what JJ Picolo is meaning in that statement of, you know, nobody’s off the table. We’re going to listen to any offer out there. It doesn’t mean that that, you know, discussion needs to go any further than names being brought up as we already touched on, but I can tell you with pretty firm confidence here that he’s not going to be involved in a trade. I feel that they want Cole Reagan to be their ace in 2026. You saw him recapture that a little bit at the very tail end of 2025. It shows you how incredibly hard he worked to get back out there on the mound. And the Royals like to build around a guy like that. And if I’m being brutally honest here, he’s the only one in the rotation that has true ace stuff. Chris Bubich has really good stuff. Noah Cameron has really good stuff. It’s not power ace stuff where in October you say, “You’re going up against Aaron Judge. I need you to be throwing 97 to 99 with devastating stuff.” He’s the only guy in the rotation that has that. The Royals can acknowledge that where he feels like to me the guy you can’t replace in the rotation. Now I look at Chris Bubich. I feel that Noah Cameron could replace him. Same goes for Noah Cameron. If you traded Noah Cameron, I feel Chris Bubich could replace him and Ryan Burgerer could replace the spot that Chris Bubich is moving up from. With Cole Reagan, it’s different, right? And for those asking about, you know, why are they not entertaining any deals with Michael Walka and Seth Lugo? It’s not that they are so tied to them and there’s no way they could move on. I’m sure that they care about those two and they are so instrumental in working with these young guys. I’m not saying that, you know, they don’t do anything around there. And I’m not trying to overreact to a poor end to their 2025 season, but they’re under contract. They’re a little bit older. you’re not getting the return that you’re wanting for Walker or Luga, which is why I don’t believe they’re seriously entertaining moving either of those guys along with them being good mentors for the pitching staff. To me, I keep circling back to it’s either Noah Cameron or it’s Chris Bubich or maybe Ryan Birdard and Steven Kick. The Red Sox can want Cole Reagan all they want. If they want Cole Reagan, they are going to have to move heaven and earth to get him, you know, and I don’t see the Red Sox doing that. Therefore, I believe they are just going to move on to another team if they really want that number one or number two for the rotation because I don’t see the Royals being that team to give them Cole Reagan when these two are going to be battling out for a wildcard spot or is the postseason spot in general come October of next year. Do you believe the Royals will seriously consider moving Cole Reagan’s this off season? Let us know in the YouTube comments below. When we come back, one guy that has been linked to the Royals more than anybody has been Harrison Bader. Do we believe the two sides will match up on a deal? I’ll give you my thoughts next on Lockown Royals. You are tuning to Lockdown Royals and the Lockdown Podcast Network. I am your host Jack Johnson and you can listen to us on wherever you download your podcast. Want to tell you about one of two sponsors today in FanDuel. NFL Sundays move fast. One big play and suddenly everything feels different. That’s why making live betting with FanDuel can be so exciting. You’re not just watching the game, you’re reacting to it in real time. With FanDuel, you can place live bets as the action unfolds. Every drive, every momentum swing, every highlight moment. Even on Thanksgiving, I put a five leg parlay down on the Chiefs and Cowboys. I came up one leg short. But you’re betting on Thanksgiving. To me, it doesn’t get much better than that. You get a little extra money. I didn’t win the money, but it’s still fun to follow along on the games when you have something cooking up and certainly have it cooking up over on FanDuel. So, if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanuel.com and place your live NFL bets all season long. FanDuel, the game moves fast and so can you. All this talk about trades. Jiren Durant, Cole Reagan’s, no, Noah Cameron, Chris Bubich, William Abrau, Joe Adell, right? We we’ve circulated through all these names. Brennan Donovan’s another one I should bring up, but there’s still a high likelihood the first move that the Royals make would be through free agency. Uh maybe it is a trade, but to me, I feel the easiest thing you could do going into the winter meetings is picking up a few guys in free agency. you know, round out the bottom half of your roster and then put all the eggs in the basket of landing that everyday left fielder. And speaking of outfielders, one name that I have seen linked to the Royals more than anybody has been Harrison Bader. Now, Bader coming off a really good year between Minnesota and Philadelphia, thought there might have been a chance that he’d go back to Philadelphia. He posted on Instagram not long after the season had ended. Kind of saying his goodbyes to Philly and that made it seem like they’re not going to bring him back. It was a nice rental deal. Now he’s going to test the free agent market and Philadelphia is going to go in a different direction. Then we got the reports that Philadelphia would like him back. How truthful that really is, I guess we’ll wait and see. And the closer we get to winter meetings, we very well could have our answer. The reason Bader is linked to the Royals is not a surprise whatsoever. I mean, every article I read on ESPN, The Athletic, former Royals beat reporter Andy Mcola, who just was phenomenal in his time here, and I still read his stuff as much as I can. He picked, you know, one free agent that fits with each team. It was Harrison Bader. Mark Feinstein’s one free agent fit for every team. It was Harrison Bader for the Royals. And though I saw some push back on Twitter from fans of he’s a right-handed Kyle Isbel, you know, he’s only done it for one year. Don’t sign him. He’ll only be, you know, the the bad version of himself in Kansas City. There are a lot of reasons to like a matchup with the Royals and Harrison Bader. The first being, you know, incredible defense. I mean, there could be times in your outfield where you have Harrison Bader and Kyle Isbel in right in center field. I mean, that’s one of the best two spots in the outfield or two best defenders you could have at those positions and in a cavernous ballpark like Kaufman Stadium that plays very well, right? So, you replace Jack Kagleion late in the game with Harrison Bader. I like the way that outfield looks and depending on who you get in left field, you might have one of the better defensive outfields in the game. But, we’ll have to wait and see what all three guys look like if they choose to go that route. Offensively, you know, Harrison Bader is more of a a a successful right-handed hitter against righties than he is against lefties, at least last year. In fact, he was hitting 300 or better against righties in 2025 and was in the low 220s, I believe, against lefties. Didn’t make too much sense, but I could also see a world in which the Royals want to bring him in, and he’s the platoon bat or the right-handed bat to complement Jack Kegleion in right field over a Rob Ref Snider or an Austin Hayes. And we can say, you know, he’s only done it for one year, which I push back on. Harrison Bader had good years, you know, prior to 2023 and 2022. He had a fine career in St. Louis before he struggled at the very end and then bounced around a little bit. But when you’re looking at platoon bats, which I view Harrison Bader as a platoon bat, that’s what you’re going to run into. You know, if you had somebody that had three consecutive good years, like really good years, you know, offensively, was a good defender, they would be an everyday outfielder looking for a big-time contract. I feel Harrison Bader is looking for a two-year deal, probably in that ballpark of 10 to 12 million, and that really fits a need for the Royals. Well, Harrison Bader, by far and away, would have been the best outfitter for the Royals last season. It is a very low bar to clear, but Harrison Bader has felt like a royal for so long. I I thought that he was a guy last off season I would have given a shot to. Now, hindsight’s 2020. We all know that. I didn’t know Harrison Bader was going to have an OBP of 350 something. Was going to hit over 300 against right-handed pitching. Was going to be one of the best. Well, I knew he’d be a pretty good defensive center fielder, but you know, one of the better defenders defending center fielders, you know, for both the the Twins and then also Philadelphia in a postseason chase. And the Phillies loved them, which is why they want to bring them back still. If you’re Kansas City, though, you can’t always get picky about the outfielders you’re going for. Otherwise, you’re going to be left in the dust. I mean, if there was a world in which the Royals signed Harrison Bader and Bader took over center field responsibilities over Kyle Isbel, are you complaining that much? To me, I’m not. Cuz the big reason you have Kyle Isbel in center field is because of his defense. And he has shown in his career that he’s not going to be an above average bat. He just screams fourth outfielder to me, which is totally fine. If Kyle Isbel copy paste his 2025 into 2026 in fewer games and is this team’s fourth outfielder, I believe it is an incredibly valuable spot for him. And if he’s replaced by Harrison Bader, I feel that raises the floor of this team and raises the floor of the outfield. You’re not losing the defensive prowess out there. You could be getting even better in center field and you are getting better offensively, right? It’s one thing to be pessimistic and say, “Well, Harrison Bader was good last year. He’s bound to have a down year this coming year.” You can view it that way, but even in a down year for Harrison Bader, based off what he did last year, I feel would be fine for this Royals outfield. Worst case scenario, he’s Kyle Isbel. And yeah, you might be paying him 10 to 12 million, which is more than you’re you’re giving Izzy, but to me, it might be worth that gamble. I feel there’s a reason Harrison Bader is being linked to the Royals over and over and over again. He can handle center field at Kaufman Stadium. And what if he follows up his 2025 season with a similar year in 2026? You’re getting a very good bargain in center field and assuming the Royals still get a left fielder that they want. Now you have Bader putting up those numbers. You’ve got Kaggleó, hopefully can bounce back after a poor rookie season, and then a left fielder who you expect to be your big get of the off season. To me, that feels like logical thinking in the off season. I wouldn’t be opposed to Rob Reiner. I really wouldn’t. Or an Austin Hayes, right? Guys that are true platoon guys who can hammer left-handed pitching, but are you going to get the defensive upside? You’re not going to. Not like you can with Harrison Bader. And to me, that matters to the Royals. It absolutely matters. And if you don’t think it does, you know, go to to some games late last year where you might have not had the best defensive right fielder or you had some mistakes in center because Kyle Isel was banged up and he wasn’t playing. Imagine having an outfield that in the seventh, eighth, and ninth inning, you could have Bader in center and Isbel in right. two elite defenders who can handle that side and make the the gamechanging play, be able to run stuff down in the gap. It is a cavernous right center field as we all know. And if you got Harrison Bader and the bat to go with it, you already know the defense is going to be good. That’s the downside for for Harrison Bader would be a poor offensive season, but still a great defensive season. We’ve made cases for Adulus Garcia for that exact same reason. He was way worse offensively than Bader last year. Elite defensively in right field. Would you rather have Garcia or would you rather have Harrison Bader? To me, I feel that Harrison Bader would be a better fit and probably has better upside though on a two-year deal than giving Adulles Garcia a two-year deal. Do you feel that the Royals should give a deal to Harrison Bader? If not, who would you like to see them give a deal to for that platoon bat in right field or just a right-handed outfielder? Definitely let us know in the YouTube comments below or reach out to us on Twitter. We’re going to take our final break of the show. When we come back, speaking of right-handed outfielders, the Royals could line up with the Astros for a trade for this bat. Who is that bat? We’ll tell you next on Lockown Royals. You are tuning to Lockdown Royals in the Lockdown Podcast Network. I your host Jack Johnson and you can find me on Twitter at johnnyj_15. want to tell you about the title sponsor in game time. The World Cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 1994. And with 48 teams for the first time ever, it’s going to be massive. But let’s be honest, getting tickets is usually the hardest part. That’s why the Game Time app is clutch. Finally giving fans a real advantage when it comes to snagging seats. 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I’m not sure I would ever view, you know, Austin Hayes and Rob Snider as somebody that could take over an outfield spot, which is why I’d lean a little bit more toward Harrison Bader, but I understand the push back, too. You have a guy that wasn’t good whatsoever in 2024. He catches on with Minnesota and Philadelphia. Yeah, he might have changed things for good and now he’s gonna have a very good age 31, 32, and 33 season. Or he was a one-hit wonder in the back half of his career. He breaks out in 2025, gets a big contract, and then never gets a big contract after that. So, the Royals could be scared away by that. Why would we give somebody who may not even be our opening day center fielder or right fielder, give him a a two-year deal worth, you know, 12 million a year? Why would we do that to ourselves when we could go another route? We could get somebody on a one-year deal worth 5 million or 6 million or they could go the trade route as well. And to me, it feels that those options are limited, but they’re possible. And a name that I do have to give credit, I believe it was Cody on Twitter that that showed me this. And then this morning, I was able to look on some of the MLB accounts and saw that uh Jake Meyers of the Houston Astros is a name to watch for the winter meetings. Now, the Astros, you know, have an outfield that isn’t where they once were, but they’re definitely going to be better going into 2026. You know, you’ve got Cam Smith who really had a fine rookie season, really started the season well and then kind of tailed off toward the end, but they’re looking to get a little bit younger, maybe have more upside. Uh, you know, Chaz McCormack was a guy that patrolled that outfield for a number of years. Jake Myers, another one. And a guy like Harrison Bader who’s coming off a pretty good season, is very good defensively in center field, has the speed, and is, you know, close to age 30, if not a few years under that or a few years over that. I mean, Bader’s 31, and I believe Jake Myers is 29. So, even though he’s approaching his age 30 season, he’s got some uh some suitors for sure. And in this article on the athletic where I believe it was uh Will Sammon and Katie Woo. If not, it was Ken Rosenthal that might have been a part of this article, but mentioned the Royals as one of those teams to watch looking for a right-handed outfielder. That is what Jake Myers is. He hit 294 last year. Had an OPS plus of 103, so slightly above league average. By all accounts, kind of matches what the Royals would be looking for. not as their solution, not as their fix. And I do want to be clear, too, when it comes to Harrison Bader. He ain’t the fix either. He’s not the solution. He’s just a part of the solution. Same goes for for Jake Myers. You would have somebody that significantly raises the floor of your outfield, gives Kyle Lisbel and Jack Kaggleó a nice right-handed back to compliment him a little bit, but he’s not going to be somebody that alters your lineup. There will be days that he gives you a little bit of a boost. There will be days that, you know, you play him a couple couple games in a row. There will be weeks where you play him a couple games in a row. Uh, but he’s also not just that that permanent player in the lineup. And the Astros, I should have, you know, added this in the beginning part of my segment, they’re looking for starting pitching and controllable starting pitching, which the Royals do have. Another reason why I’m sure they would be linked to a guy like Jake Myers. But here’s the hangup for me. If you were approached with the option, option A being Harrison Bader, option B being Jake Meyers, and on one side it’s you can have Harrison Bader for two years of 24 million. Now, that would be the contract, that would be the deal. Or you can have Jake Meyers, who isn’t a free agent until 2028, so you have him for two more years, cheaper than Harrison Bader, but you got to give up a Steven Kick or you got to give up a Ryan Bert. To me, that feels a bit steep for a guy like Jake Meyers, but those are the options the Royals have starting pitching wise. I mean, you’re not trading Chris Bubich to Houston for, you know, a guy that’s not even an everyday center fielder. I mean, I guess for a period of time he was in Houston and he very well could be in Kansas City, but he, you know, feels to me like one of those stop gap guys. Truthfully, I’m not sure you make that deal and say he’s the guy you are just penciling into that lineup from now until 2028. I feel it’d be, you know, more of a platoon situation. And are you willing to give up starting pitching with multiple years of control for a guy like him? He hit 294 last year, so he can hit for average. He’s got speed. He’s a good defender, and he’s cheaper than Harrison Bader. But that’s what I’m weighing here. Is it better to spend the money there where maybe that’s your big deal in free agency, or would you rather hang on to that money, use it on a bullpen piece or two, and then make a trade and and move one of those starters for a right-handed outfielder like Jake Meyers? He, like Harrison Bader, feels very royal. He’s a name that we have not brought up, I believe, even before this episode. I know that he’s been asked about in a mailbag Friday, but on our own, without the help of our listeners, I don’t believe I’ve brought him up more than once, unless it was in a postgame recap. But to me, when I saw that, I went, that’s just the trade version of Harrison Bader. He’s got a little bit better baseball savant page if you’re into that. like the batted ball metrics are a little bit better than baiters. And you know, these are guys that have been around baseball for a long time. Harrison Bader and Jake Myers have had multiple good years at the big league level. Jake Myers also, prior to 2025, had two really poor seasons in Houston where he was just known for defense and he wasn’t racking up 150 160 games. Neither was Harrison Bader. So I found that very intriguing that literally on the trade side there is a equivalent to Harrison Bader hits for more average. Bader, you know, hits for a little bit more pop, at least he did last year. But both could be very elite defensively and center fielder. Do you feel the Royals should try to make a move for Jake Meyers of the Houston Astros? Let us know in the YouTube comments below. Well, that’s going to do it for another edition of Lockdown Royals and the Lockdown Podcast Network. I’ve been your host, Jack Johnson. Thank you for making Locked On your first listen every day. For your second listen, find the Locked On MLB podcast where there is no offseason. Sully keeps you up todate on contract negotiations, rumors, and everything you need to be the most informed baseball fan. Find LockedMon MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Tomorrow we’ll be bringing you a much earlier episode in the afternoon, but until then, you take it easy, Kansas City.

We give our reasons why the Royals won’t move Cole Ragans in a deal for an outfielder this winter. Next, would Harrison Bader be the best fit for the Royals? Lastly, could the Royals make a trade with Houston for this right-handed bat?

Host Jack Johnson goes over it all next on “Locked On Royals”!

0:00 – Ragans
12:40 – Bader
22:30 – Meyers

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