The Royals announced Friday that Ragans (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.
Analysis:
Ragans has been sidelined since May 6 with an elbow impingement but has been throwing bullpen sessions for the past week. He's now ready to face live hitters in a game setting and shouldn't need more than one or two rehab starts before rejoining the Royals' rotation. The left-hander has a 4.84 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 45:23 K:BB across 35.1 innings this season. Ragans has elite swing-and-miss stuff, but his 15.2 percent walk rate is in just the sixth percentile leaguewide, while opponents also have a sky-high 15.7 percent barrel rate against Ragans.
