Cubs to sign right-hander Hunter Harvey, add velocity to bullpen

The Cubs are adding velocity to their bullpen with the addition of right-hander Hunter Harvey.

Harvey is in agreement with the Cubs on a one-year deal, pending a physical, sources confirmed. The exact financial terms were not immediately clear.

Harvey, 31, has played for the Orioles, Nationals and Royals in his seven-year major-league career. He has a 3.11 career ERA but also a long injury history.

Last season alone, he spent stints on the injured list for a strained teres major and strained adductor, both on his right side. He pitched in just 12 major-league games.

The Cubs see his upside as worth the risk. Harvey’s fastball was still averaging about 96 mph last year, but in 2022 and 2023 it was sitting above 98 mph, according to Statcast.

That hard-throwing profile sets him apart from the rest of the Cubs’ bullpen acquisitions so far this offseason. The four other relievers who the Cubs signed to major-league deals this winter – right-handers Phil Maton and Jacob Webb, and left-handers Caleb Thielbar and Hoby Milner – rely more heavily on finesse, with fastballs that average under 94 mph.

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has said he weighs swing-and-miss more heavily than simply velocity.

“It doesn’t matter how you strike a guy out, but a ball in play is random,” he said at the winter meetings earlier this month.

Having varied profiles in a bullpen, however, is helpful. The Cubs also have young flame-throwers like Daniel Palencia and Porter Hodge to put hitters on their heels with velocity.

The Cubs’ approach to bullpen-building, which relies on mostly small major-league deals and minor-league acquisitions, calls for some risk-taking on players with profiles like that of Harvey.