Ragans was removed from his start Wednesday against the Guardians in the first inning due to an apparent left hand injury, Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star reports. He recorded two outs and was charged with three earned runs on two hits and a walk prior to departing.
After striking out the first two batters he faced, Ragans was struck in his pitching hand by a 96-mile-per-hour comebacker off the bat of Jose Ramirez, who reached on an infield single. Ragans was evaluated by the Royals‘ training staff and cleared to remain in the game, but after issuing a four-pitch walk and then yielding a two-run double to Chase DeLauter, he was pulled from the contest. The Royals will likely send him in for X-rays to determine whether or not he suffered a fracture, but even if tests come back negative, Ragans could still be at risk of missing his next turn through the rotation.
