The Cubs have placed right-hander Hunter Harvey on the 15-day injured list due to right triceps inflammation. Left-hander Charlie Barnes‘ contract was selected from Triple-A to take Harvey’s spot on the active roster, and the final open spot on Chicago’s 40-man roster.
Harvey has a 6.75 ERA over four appearances and four innings, with all of the damage coming on April 3 when he allowed three runs (on homers from Gabriel Arias and Chase DeLauter) in two-thirds of an inning of work in the Cubs’ 4-1 loss for the Guardians. Perhaps in a hint of some lingering injury issues, Harvey only made one more appearance since that game, though he logged a scoreless inning last Wednesday with seemingly no incident.
Injuries have been a primary and unfortunate subplot of Harvey’s pro career, dating back to his time as a prized prospect in the Orioles’ farm system. Selected 22nd overall in the 2013 draft, Harvey didn’t make his MLB debut until 2019, and he didn’t make more than 10 appearances in a season until he logged 38 appearances out of the Nationals’ bullpen in 2022. Since August 2024, Harvey has pitched in just 22 MLB games due to back problems, a teres major strain, an adductor strain, and now this bout of biceps inflammation.
Over the 2022-25 seasons, Harvey posted a 3.07 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate, and 6.5% walk rate, while establishing himself as a pretty solid leverage reliever when healthy. The Cubs rolled the dice on Harvey’s ability to bounce back by signing him to a one-year, $6.5MM free agent deal last winter, and Harvey and the team can only hope that this biceps issue is relatively minor.
Phil Maton was also placed on the IL due to knee tendinitis on Friday, so Chicago is now down two key members of its bullpen within a three-day span. The pitching staff as a whole has been depleted by Cade Horton‘s season-ending UCL surgery and Matthew Boyd‘s IL stint due to a biceps strain, and Colin Rea was moved from the bullpen to the rotation to help bolster the starting five.
Barnes will try to help fill the void as the southpaw prepares for his first taste of the Show since 2021. Over 38 2/3 innings and nine appearances (eight of them starts) for the Twins in 2021, Barnes posted a 5.92 ERA in what remains his only bit of Major League experience. The 30-year-old Clemson product then headed to South Korea and pitched well with the KBO League’s Lotte Giants from 2022-24, but the 2025 season saw Barnes struggle with the Giants and back in North America when pitching in the Reds’ minor league system.
Chicago signed Barnes to a minor league contract in January, and he’ll now return to the majors in what will likely be a long relief role. Barnes has worked mostly as a starter throughout his career, and his ability to eat innings may be helpful to a Cubs team that is still trying to work their way through this spate of pitching injuries.
…and the hits just keep on coming…
Shocking
I don’t know how it is for other fans of teams, but whenever I see a current or former oriole injured in the news, I really start to wonder if the organization is just cursed with bad health. Harvey looks like he’s got value as a reliever but man he’s had a litany of injuries as well.
Charlie Barnes…?!
Because THAT is what the Cubs ‘pen is lacking- a LH that can’t throw 90mph.
Yes, it’s ridiculously early in the season but there are some MAJOR red flags here.
This season is quickly becoming quite the sad joke. No, not because an oft-injured reliever having an unimpressive start to the season is down, but because the results have been dogsh!t and nobody on the team is playing well aside from Nico.
You can’t sign a pitcher who is always injured and then be shocked when he gets hurt again. But, the lack of alternatives to fill-in is a bit baffling. Although lately the issue has been the inability to score runs, so maybe it doesn’t even matter.
Already a lost season and Clueless Counsell looks more confused than the girls at Cubby Bear
Another April bullpen by Hoyer crashes n a heap. Have I seen this before? Oh yeah
Such an injury prone pitcher. He had such a big promise when he was in the Orioles system.
Barnes is definitely better than he was when he left for Korea he should be a decent enough innings eater.
Looks like the worst Cubs team since 2022. No power, no pitching, no energy–bunch of stuck-up, spoiled, white guys who can’t handle the pressure. Managed by an overrated grump who used to be a good manager. Much like Durocher when he managed the team, so long ago.
As for Harvey, he never quite seemed like part of the team. We probably don’t see him again, no great loss. Might be better to try to break in some younger guys anyway.
Don’t worry, Alan. Cubs dreadlock day sponsored by Red Stripe is coming soon.
LOL
What does their skin color have to do with anything?
There is a theory going around out in the ether that the Cubs front office is White Supremacist because they never seem to do much with their dark skinned players. I don’t know enough to say one way or another, just reporting the hearsay.
I’m not sure where all the racist crap is coming from, The fact is the decisions are just stupid not racist. Baseball today is played by shortened starts and over used bullpens, Especially early in the season. We have a POBO who refuses to acknowledge this fact and in fact goes out of his way to try to go the other way and fails every time. So far he’s been lucky 1 year where he was able to build one as he goes but in all the other years failed to come back after being down too far early. I say give that guy an extra 5 year extension and watch him continue to do things like sign a SS( Swanson) When he already had one( Hoerner), Sign a 3B when he already had one in Shaw, Made a QO to a P in Imanaga when he already had guys ho could have replaced him to the tune of I believe 80 some million bucks and is too cheap to find reliable bullpen guys and counts on luck to find some every year. Ole Jed loves those shiny objects and just has to have them. Rock on! Like I said, Lucky there isn’t much to watch in the summer until the Bears start. The Sky suck now because they’re run by morons, The Red Stars suck because they have new owners that are cheap so they have no competition.
Red Sox is another team that gets racist accusations hurled around that I just don’t know how to evaluate. Some of it involves the Mookie Betts situation. Also I guess they were the last club to integrate Black players into the mix so maybe it’s a legacy from that era ??
Yikes! Is pretty much all I can say this early start to the season. Lots of injuries to the pitching staff and the hitting, especially with runners in scoring position is abysmal.
Most Cub fans just want the Cubs to spend money. They don’t care what it’s spent on as the sheep just want to spend no matter what they spend it on. Why Hoyer has so many fans( Why?). Hoyer is to Epstein what Matt Eberlose is to Ben Johnson. A joke. Now the joke has an extension. Awesome. I bet most of the sheep wouldn’t have a clue as to why they even won the game today was because the bullpen kept them in the game. Now they have to trade prospects who have nowhere to go for relievers and probably go over the Tax much to Tommy Taxes dismay. But it’s partially his fault for allowing it. Well he did say once he’d pay the Tax if the situation called for it. Hey Tommy, Situation is on line 1. I’m just sitting back and watching with a smile on my face wondering how they get out of this one?
I know dozens upon dozens of Cubs fans and none of them (myself included) like Hoyer. These aren’t casual fans, either.
Incoming Long Term Cellar Dwellars of the Nationl League Central, your Chicago Cubs ???
The Orioles pitching scouting separtment is a force. Hunter Harvey, Dylan Bundy, Grayson Rodrigues. All stud prospects drafted high and spent their entire career injured.
Erik Bedard, John Means, Chris Tillman
Lolol so is it a bicep or a tricep injury? Great reporting. And they’d like you to pay for it.
Given Harvey’s injury history, was his contract given to him guaranteed by Jed?
Looks as if opposing pitchers figured out how to pitch to pca and busch. Problem is we don’t have quality backups in either position!
If anybody watching tights Phillies slaughter of the cubs, would anybody consider that the cubbies are now one of the worst teams in the league?
Some of you, including one of you who is an old-timer like me and is really smart and I really respect–were saying, just a few weeks ago, “Who needs Zac Gallen? We’re nine-deep in starters! We’ve got Assad, and Wicks, and hey don’t forget Connor Nuland…” I just shook my head.
Not sure what you’re talking about but the Cubs starters have been getting the job done all year with a darn good ERA even without Horton and Boyd their 1 and 2. Since I’m the only one who’s ever mentioned Noland I assume you’re talking about me. Boyd is coming back and Assad got pounded by the Phillies but the Phillies pound a lot of people and would certainly pound Gallen or Giolito if they were dumb enough to acquire them. It’s the bullpen that sucks once again.
This is a fkn mash unit, great job h:ever guy he signed is injured lmao
Jed constantly devalues the bullpen every offseason and this is what we have to deal with. Then of course come trade deadline Jed will be forced to overpay to add a couple of bullpen arms.