The Chicago Cubs made some major changes to their bullpen, and one signing is expected to have a key role.
Chicago signed former Kansas City Royals reliever Hunter Harvey to a one-year, $6 million deal. Although the signing at the time didn’t draw many headlines, entering spring training, he’s expected to play a key role for the team.
Cubs insider Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic believes Harvey could be the team’s most important bullpen piece.
“Harvey isn’t a non-roster invite and got paid handsomely (he’s guaranteed $6 million for 2026) to join the team, but he fits as a much-needed bounce-back candidate for the Cubs,” Sharma wrote. “He had multiple suitors and was compelled to join the Cubs by an intriguing sales pitch. …
“If Harvey can stay healthy, there seems to be little doubt among people with the Cubs that he can be a huge piece of the bullpen puzzle. Maybe the most important one. That’s how good he can be when the arm is right.”
Harvey appeared in just 12 games last season for the Kansas City Royals last season due to injuries. He ended up going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 10.2 innings, as he was dominant for Kansas City.
If Harvey can remain healthy in 2026, he could be one of the Cubs’ high-leverage relievers and could even close out some games. Yet, staying healthy is a major question mark for the right-hander.
Cubs Have Plan to Keep Harvey Healthy
Harvey dealt with multiple injuries last season, but Chicago is confident it can keep him healthy in 2026.
The right-hander said part of the Cubs’ sales pitch was on how to keep him healthy. And, some stretching was a big part of it, which enticed Harvey.
“Some different stretching stuff that we added to my routine that we thought could help certain areas that weren’t moving as good,” Harvey said. “There were a few things mechanically that we thought we could clean up a bit. Help me get more health out of it. Small things they thought we could try and see if it helps.”
Harvey also knows if he’s healthy, he can be an elite pitcher, which the Cubs believe he is.
“One hundred percent,” Harvey said. “That was one of the things we talked about. Going into last year, I had the back stuff to end the season. I didn’t get to have a normal offseason. Everything was pushed back two months from what I normally do. That was part of my mechanics getting out of whack, the velo (being down), just everything. But this (offseason) was back to normal. We’ve been working on some stuff, trying to see if we can get those couple ticks back up.”
The hope is that Harvey can get past his injury woes and be an important reliever for the Cubs.
Who is Chicago’s Closer?
The Cubs already named their closer as spring training opened.
On the opening day of camp, Cubs manager Craig Counsell was asked if Daniel Palencia would be the team’s closer, and he confirmed he would be.
“Yes,” Counsell simply stated.
Palencia went 1-6 with a 2.91 ERA last season, going 22-of-25 in save opportunities. Along with Palencia, the backend of the Cubs’ bullpen will feature Harvey and Phil Maton.
Cubs $6 Million Pitcher Surprisingly Named ‘Most Important’ Bullpen Piece