The Royals announced that right-hander Hunter Harvey has been placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to August 7) due to mid-back tightness. Right-hander Carlos Hernandez was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.
The back problem has kept Harvey from pitching since August 4, so he’ll get the maximum three days of backdated IL placement time factored into a longer stint on the sidelines. Clearly Harvey and the Royals were hopeful that some rest would allow for Harvey to heal without the need for a trip to the injured list, but today’s news continues that has been a shaky beginning to the reliever’s tenure in Kansas City.
Acquired from the Nationals just under a month ago, K.C. paid a hefty price to land the righty, giving up both notable infield prospect Cayden Wallace as well as the 39th overall pick in the 2024 draft (the Royals’ Competitive Balance Round selection, which are the only types of draft picks that can be traded). The Royals were hoping that Harvey could help solidify their bullpen, but he has thus far posted a 6.35 ERA in 5 2/3 innings over four appearances, with four walks and five strikeouts.
These numbers are starkly different from the 4.20 ERA, 26.3% strikeout rate, and 6.3% walk rate Harvey posted in 45 innings for Washington prior to the trade. The small sample size of Harvey’s time with the Royals must be considered, of course, plus some extra misfortune in the form of a .389 BABIP since he went from D.C. to K.C. However, while most secondary metrics indicated that Harvey pitched better with the Nats than his 4.20 ERA indicated, he is near the bottom of the league with a 48.3% hard-hit ball rate.
It could be that all of that hard contact was bound to catch up with Harvey eventually, and it surely hasn’t helped that he might’ve been nursing a bad back during some of this time. Harvey has a long injury history mostly related to arm problems rather than back issues, so hopefully a 15-day absence will fully correct the problem.
Harvey joins a few other Royals relievers on the IL, as John Schreiber and Dan Altavilla are expected back roughly around the end of August and the team is hopeful Josh Taylor can return at some point in September. The injuries haven’t helped the Royals’ efforts to both improve their bullpen results or their broader goal of reaching the playoffs, and with Harvey out, it puts more pressure on James McArthur and new arrival Lucas Erceg to hold the fort in high-leverage situations.