Cubs roll the dice on a former first-round pick in latest bullpen signing

There's another new face in the Chicago Cubs bullpen. According to Will Sammon and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, Chicago has agreed to a deal with right-hander Hunter Harvey, pending a physical, in a class Jed Hoyer-style signing.

Harvey, a first-round pick of the Baltimore Orioles back in 2013, has seen plenty of ups and downs during parts of seven MLB campaigns. His 2025 season was derailed by a pair of significant injuries and, after an injury-shortened 2024, means he's made just 18 appearances since being traded from Washington to Kansas City at the deadline that year.

When he was on the mound this year, he was brilliant, tossing 10 2/3 scoreless frames with an 11:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He sits in the mid-90s with his fastball and has plus control. His best showing came back in 2022-23, when he was a shutdown bullpen arm for the Nationals. Over that two-year span, Harvey tossed 100 innings of 2.81 FIP ball while averaging more than 10 punchouts per nine.

Hunter Harvey set to join a new-look Chicago Cubs bullpen

Harvey joins a bullpen mix that will feature a ton of new faces in 2026, including Hoby Milner, Phil Maton, Jacob Webb and Collin Snider. Chicago re-signed both Colin Rea and Caleb Thielbar and hard-throwing right-hander Daniel Palencia figures to slot into the ninth-inning role once again.

There are still a number of veteran arms available and no one would be shocked if Hoyer continues to add as the calendar flips to 2026. The top of the market is pretty picked over at this point, but someone like Seranthony Dominguez could be a possibility as another proven late-inning arm.

It's understandable that people want to see flashier additions to the bullpen, but there's little reason for Hoyer's front office to deviate from an approach that's worked remarkably well in recent years. Remember: some of the team's most valuable relievers in 2025 fit into this 'buy-low' bucket: Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz and Thielbar were critical pieces for Craig Counsell.

If they stick with this approach the rest of the winter, but that means available funds go toward a big bat like Alex Bregman or an impact starter like Tatsuya Imai, nobody will be complaining.