How soon will Royals’ Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans return? It’s an encouraging timeline
The Kansas City Royals will get back an All-Star on Friday.
Right-handed starting pitcher Seth Lugo will return from the 15-day injured list after missing time with inflammation of his right middle finger. He is expected to start Friday’s series opener against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium.
Lugo will help stabilize KC’s starting rotation. He slides back into his normal slot alongside breakout starter Kris Bubic and Michael Wacha, among others.
The Royals have lined up Lugo, Wacha and Bubic as their starting pitchers for the Tigers series. And they hope to welcome back another All-Star starting pitcher, left-hander Cole Ragans, within a week.
Ragans is eligible to return from the injured list on Sunday, June 1. He threw a bullpen Wednesday and is on track to potentially make a rehab start.
“He’s tentatively scheduled to go pitch on a rehab assignment on Saturday,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We wanted to stress him a little bit more since he did a bullpen a couple of days ago.
“Let’s see how it feels sitting down and getting back up. But we really think that he is fine.”
Missing two front-line veteran pitchers, the Royals turned to talented rookie Noah Cameron and a pair of bullpen games to fill the void this past month. Cameron impressed with a 0.93 ERA through three starts and started Wednesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Royals have utilized left-hander Daniel Lynch IV as a bullpen opener. A convoy of relievers followed in Lynch’s starts against the Reds and San Francisco Giants.
Lugo has a 3.02 ERA this season. He will oppose Tigers standout right-hander Casey Mize in Friday’s game.
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 5:39 PM with the headline "How soon will Royals’ Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans return? It’s an encouraging timeline."
