The Kansas City Royals made an early splash ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline by acquiring veteran reliever Hunter Harvey from the Washington Nationals.
Harvey was a valued trade candidate around the league. The Royals pursued him with hopes of adding much-needed firepower to their bullpen.
And Harvey had just as much interest. On Friday, Harvey met his new teammates as he shared his excitement to be in Kansas City.
“I’ve always told my dad and some of my friends that Kansas City was one of the places I would like to play one day,” Harvey said. “So it actually worked out really good.”
Harvey, 29, had an affinity for Kauffman Stadium. He allowed one run in two career appearances at the venue prior to the trade.
Additionally, KC affords Harvey a chance to feel at home. He is an avid deer hunter and looks forward to the advantages of living in the Midwest.
“I do a lot of deer hunting,” Harvey said. “So I’ve always hunted in Kansas and just the idea of being able to live outside the city is nice. I feel like it’s almost like home.”
Harvey grew up in Catawba, North Carolina. Prior to the All-Star Break, he was able to spend some time with family before traveling to join the Royals.
“The first couple of days were kind of a roller coaster,” Harvey said. “Now, it’s starting to set in a little bit.”
The Royals are expected to use Harvey in high-leverage situations. He has experience pitching in a late-innings role. It’s possible the Royals insert Harvey as a setup man to closer James McArthur in the bullpen.
This season, Harvey owns a 4.20 ERA in 45 innings pitched. He has 50 strikeouts and 26 holds, which is tied for the most in the majors.
Harvey utilizes four pitches in his arsenal. In addition to his fastball, Harvey features a splitter, curveball and slider.
The splitter has a 37.4% whiff rate, according to Baseball Savant . It pairs well with the fastball, that averages 97.8 mph, to a Royals bullpen in need of power arms.
“I love just attacking guys with my heater and just going at them,” Harvey said. “(It) depends on the day for what I’m going to use after that. Depends on the hitter and the scouting reports on them.”
And the Royals are excited to utilize Harvey against American League competition.
“The area we wanted to improve the most was somebody who had the ability to strike people out and have some power,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. “That is exactly what he does. He was in a setup role with Washington, but you know, we feel like he can throw the eighth and ninth inning. He has done that before, so we’ll see how it works out here.”
Harvey will wear No. 56 with the Royals. He was added to the 40-man roster after fellow reliever Nick Anderson was designated for assignment.
The Royals addressed a huge need with Harvey now in the fold. There is still a chance the organization could find another reliever or offensive bat ahead of the trade deadline.
“If there’s an opportunity to add to this club and make this club a little bit better, we certainly want to do that,” Picollo said. That was the biggest piece for us and that was the No. 1 target for us. I don’t want to say we’re done. … So we will continue to look at what might be out there (on the trade market).”
Harvey will join Bobby Witt Jr. as the Royals’ latest second-generation player . His father, Bryan, was a two-time All-Star with 177 saves in his MLB career.
Now, Harvey will write the next chapter in his story — a chapter that includes a postseason push with the organization.
“I know they have been pretty good this year,” Harvey said of the Royals. “I’m looking forward to playing with some of these guys and looking forward to throwing to Salvador Perez. That’s kind of a cool moment.”
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