How Hunter Harvey Signing Could Shake Up The Cubs' Bullpen

It has always been clear that the Chicago Cubs' bullpen was going to look a lot different in 2026 than it did at the end of their 2025 campaign.

The most obvious reason for this is that Taylor Rogers, Aaron Civale, Michael Soroka, Ryan Brasier, Caleb Thielbar, and Drew Pomeranz all became unrestricted free agents this winter.

That's a stunning number of players that the Cubs' front office needed to either re-sign or replace. Since then, Thielbar has re-signed, and Chicago has also added Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, and Jacob Webb, as well as adding several players on minor league deals.

But there were still more additions to be made. And Chicago executed that on December 27, when The Athletic's Will Sammon reported on X that the Cubs and reliever Hunter Harvey have agreed to a deal, pending a physical.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Hunter Harvey (56) pitches on March 27, 2025 — Mar 27, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Hunter Harvey | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

How Hunter Harvey might fit into Cubs bullpen

This signing is interesting for Chicago. Harvey is coming off a 2025 campaign with the Kansas City Royals that was riddled with injuries, as he only made 12 appearances and pitched in 10.2 innings.

Yet Harvey's perfect 0.00 ERA and 11 strikeouts in those appearances prove he has elite upside and could prove to be a steal, depending on how much he signed for (which has not been reported yet).

Hunter Harvey | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Harvey was stellar for the Washington Nationals during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, posting a 2.52 ERA in 2022 and a 2.82 ERA across 100 innings pitched in those two seasons combined. He then struggled more than usual in 2024, posting a 4.44 ERA in 50.2 innings pitched with the Nationals and then the Royals, where he was traded in July of 2024.

Assuming Harvey is fully healthy, he should factor into the back end of Chicago's bullpen. This move might suggest that Chicago is completely content with Daniel Palencia being their closer next season, especially because every closer who was a free agent heading into this year has already signed to a new team.

But Harvey could still shake things up, given that he could either be used as a setup man or be deployed in high-leverage situations. What's for sure is that he brings added flexibility for a team that still has more pieces to replace in their bullpen puzzle.

The Cubs are signing right-handed reliever Hunter Harvey, per @WillSammon.

Career:
185 IP | 3.11 ERA | 1.10 WHIP | 201 K

His arsenal features an upper-90s fastball, a splitter (33.3% whiff), a slider (50% whiff), and he mixes in a curve. pic.twitter.com/3GID5s6C91
— Carson Wolf (@TheWrigleyWire) December 27, 2025

Cubs fans can expect Harvey to pitch meaningful innings for their team in 2026 and should be able to make a positive impact if he can remain healthy.

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