As the Kansas City Royals look to get back into a place of contention again in 2026, following a disappointing 2025 season where they only just salvaged a winning record, they’ll first and foremost need their big names to perform like big names.

One name in particular they’ll need to be at his best this year is Cole Ragans, who will hope to re-write the script this season and put a dreadful 2025 campaign plagued by injuries firmly in the rearview.

And that’s precisely the mindset he seems to have entering spring training according to a recent report from MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, where she noted that Ragans is indeed “ready to put last year behind him”.

Royals fans will be thrilled to hear that Cole Ragans seems fully locked in on the 2026 season

According to Rogers, following a report from a few weeks, Ragans turned down an opportunity to represent the United States in next month’s World Baseball Classic in order to get properly prepared for the impending Royals season.

“Would it be an insane experience?” Ragans said to Rogers. “Abso-freaking-lutely. But just after last year, after being hurt, I think it’s the best decision to stay back.”

After only making 13 starts in 2025, due to first a left groin strain followed by a more lengthy IL stint due to a left rotator cuff strain, Ragans unsurprisingly said that a healthy season is at the forefront of his mind this spring.

“I want to be healthy. I want to have a good buildup. I want to be strong going into the season, and I want to be strong in October,” Ragans said.

It was easy to tell that even when Ragans was on the mound in the early stages of 2025 that he wasn’t himself.

In his 10 starts before hitting the shelf for the second time, despite remaining strong in the strikeout department – he held a 14.05 K/9 rate – his ERA was sky-high at 5.18 and he paired that with a 1.29 WHIP, which isn’t the worst mark, but it isn’t nearly to the ace-worthy standard he’d performed to the year-and-a-half prior.

However, in his final three starts of the year in September, it was easy to see how effective a front-line arm he can be when fully healthy. In this span, he threw to a 2.77 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and .136 WHIP, while even managing to better his already strong K-rate earlier in the season, posting a whopping 15.23 K/9.

He by nature is a game-changer and as valuable a piece to this roster as any other top-tier name on it. Considering they only missed out on a Wild Card spot last season by a matter five games, imagine how a full healthy season of Ragans might’ve improved that.

And the fact he’s already discussing October just days into camp will surely fire up the Royals faithful.