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The Chicago Cubs have signed free agent reliever Hunter Harvey, pending a physical, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. The current contract details are unknown. 

Harvey (age 31) didn’t pitch much in 2025, just 10.2 innings, but was effective, putting up 11 strikeouts and not allowing any runs to score. Harvey dealt with a host of injuries in 2025, including a right abductor strain and a back injury that kept him out for most of the season with the Kansas City Royals. 

Harvey was drafted in the first round (22nd overall) by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2013 MLB Draft out of Bandys High School in North Carolina. He was the Orioles’ top prospect, for whom he signed for a $1.95 million signing bonus, according to Baseball America.

He made his major league debut in 2019 for the Baltimore Orioles and briefly pitched just 6.1 innings and allowed only one run with 11 strikeouts. Harvey then pitched 19 games between 2020-21 posting a 4.15 ERA, in which he was then placed on waivers and after first being claimed by the San Francisco Giants, then re-entered waivers and was claimed by the Washington Nationals, in which he found success in 2022 posting a 2.52 ERA in 39.1 innings pitched and then a 2.82 ERA in 60.2 innings pitched in 2023 for the Washington Nationals as a key contributor in their bullpen.

Harvey was then traded to the Kansas City Royals at the trade deadline the following year, after brief struggles. He posted a 6.35 ERA in 5.2 innings pitched with the Royals after the trade, and that season with the Nationals before the trade had regressed, posting a 4.20 ERA in 45 innings pitched in 2024.

Harvey has upside as a reliever despite his injury history and an up-and-down tenure in the Baltimore Orioles system. He averaged 96.1 mph with his fastball in 2025, placing him in the 79th percentile, according to Baseball Savant. He also posted a 31.5% chase percentage and a 30.6% whiff rate, all well above average metrics for a major league reliever, per Baseball Savant. He throws mainly four pitches (4 seam fastball, split finger, slider, and curveball). He can attack the zone (generating swing and miss) and limit walks.

If healthy, the upside is promising for the Chicago Cubs, who are looking to replace free agent reliever Brad Keller, who last week signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies after re-establishing himself from a swingman starter with the Royals and White Sox to high-end reliever in the Cubs’ bullpen last year.

The Cubs will be banking on Harvey to have similar success as Keller in their bullpen for 2026, if he stays healthy. That’s arguably the most significant question mark right now for Harvey, because when healthy, for the most part, he’s shown to be an effective reliever in a major league bullpen. His overall metrics and peripherals as a reliever are also promising when he’s healthy and playing. In a weak overall free agency class this offseason, Harvey was viewed as one of the best relievers available on this year’s free agency market until this announced signing today.

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