The New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs are battling over the services of stellar Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai. However, the windy city team is not resting on its laurels and still signed another pitcher in the meantime.
Per Will Sammon and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, the Cubs agreed a contract with Hunter Harvey. It will all become official once the thrower passes a physical test. This is key as the 2025 season saw Harvey battle with injuries.
The reliever just played 12 games out of the Royals bullpen. Harvey suffered from teres major strain, and also a Grade 2 adductor strain. That paired with back issues that stemmed from 2024, the reliever only pitched 16 1/3 innings for the Royals since July 2024.
Harvey is very talented when healthy
The injuries didn’t help Harvey, but the fact is he didn’t allow a run and only issued one walk last season. All while delivering 11 strikeouts. If he passes the physical, he could become one of the best relievers on the Cubs bullpen.
Hunter Harvey #56 of the Kansas City Royals
Harvey is known for his hard style of pitching also a good selection of offspeed pitches. That paired with his fastball might make him an absolute nightmare to deal with and a very positive sign for the Cubs once the bullpen is required.
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Tatsuya Imai’s ideal MLB fit comes into focus amid Cubs, Phillies, and NY Mets interest
Cubs bullpen was already good
After a rough start in 2025, the Cubs bullpen became one of the best units in the MLB from Spring through Summer. In fact, they ranked third in the NL in ERA from August until the end of the season. As they still fight for Tatsuya Imai against the Mets and Phillies, the bullpen seems to be solved.
Daniel Palencia emerged as one of the best relievers in baseball, and the cheap-yet-effective additions of Phil Maton and Hoby Milner added quality to the bullpen. Now you add Hunter Harvey into the equation and the Cubs have one of the best, deepest bullpens in the league.
