{"id":496327,"date":"2025-12-28T07:10:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T07:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/496327\/"},"modified":"2025-12-28T07:10:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T07:10:22","slug":"hunter-harvey-inks-deal-with-chicago-cubs-to-bolster-bullpen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/496327\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunter Harvey inks deal with Chicago Cubs to bolster bullpen"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Cubs<\/a> have bolstered their relief pitching depth by agreeing to a contract with veteran right-hander Hunter Harvey. The deal awaits official confirmation pending a physical exam.<\/p>\n

Hunter Harvey’s challenging 2025<\/p>\n

Hunter Harvey, now 31, endured a frustrating 2025 season with the Kansas City Royals, appearing in only 12 games due to injuries. A teres major strain sidelined him from April until late July, and a Grade 2 adductor strain ended his campaign early. Yet, in his limited 10 2\/3 innings, Harvey shone brightly, no runs allowed, just one walk, and 11 strikeouts.<\/p>\n

Health woes have shadowed Harvey’s career, dating back to his days as a top-100 prospect with the Baltimore Orioles. Back issues also cut short his 2024 season after a trade from Washington.<\/p>\n

Proven track record when healthy<\/p>\n

Harvey’s breakthrough came in 2022 with the Nationals, where he thrived in high-leverage situations, including closing games. Over 145 innings in Washington from 2022-2024, he posted a 3.17 ERA, an impressive 27.83% strikeout rate, and a low 6.36% walk rate.<\/p>\n

Known for hard contact allowed but elite control and velocity, Harvey’s fastball averaged 96.1 mph in 2025, his career low, likely due to the small sample and injuries. A full recovery could restore his upper-90s heat.<\/p>\n

Chicago Cubs’ bullpen strategy<\/p>\n

This signing aligns with president Jed Hoyer’s preference for affordable, talented relievers with upside. While terms remain undisclosed, it’s expected to be a low-risk deal given Harvey’s injury history.<\/p>\n

The Cubs have revamped their bullpen this offseason, adding Phil Maton (two years, $14.5 million), Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Caleb Thielbar. Daniel Palencia leads as closer, but Harvey’s closing experience adds valuable options.<\/p>\n

Bright Future for Chicago Cubs relief corps<\/p>\n

The Chicago Cubs <\/a>aim for deeper playoff success in 2026, prioritizing bullpen stability over splashy starters or hitters so far. If Harvey stays healthy, his strikeout ability and velocity could prove a major bargain, enhancing an already improved group.<\/p>\n

This move highlights the Cubs’ smart, depth-focused approach to building a competitive roster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chicago Cubs have bolstered their relief pitching depth by agreeing to a contract with veteran right-hander Hunter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,138,24,7407,4245,161,65510,66136,4156,66132,66134,66131,66130,66137,66133,66135,4,64220,17289],"class_list":{"0":"post-496327","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-chicago-cubs-news","12":"tag-chicagocubs","13":"tag-cubs","14":"tag-cubs-bullpen-signing","15":"tag-cubs-roster-moves","16":"tag-hunter-harvey","17":"tag-hunter-harvey-chicago-cubs","18":"tag-hunter-harvey-contract","19":"tag-hunter-harvey-cubs","20":"tag-hunter-harvey-deal","21":"tag-hunter-harvey-injuries","22":"tag-hunter-harvey-mlb","23":"tag-jed-hoyer-offseason","24":"tag-mlb","25":"tag-mlb-free-agency-2025","26":"tag-mlb-relievers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115795946590476135","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}