Harvey threw a scoreless inning in his spring debut Tuesday and says he's fully healthy after a back injury prevented him from pitching in the postseason, the Kansas City Star reports. "Last year was tough," Harvey said. "It didn't feel good to rotate, which is kind of the main thing we need to be able to do. We just couldn't get it to ever calm down."
Harvey met with specialists is in the offseason and the back issue was determined just to be tightness. He delayed his normal offseason throwing program by a month to aid his recovery and appears to be back to regular strength. Harvey will be a key setup man ahead of Lucas Erceg and Carlos Estevez this season, assuming he can stay healthy.
The Royals and Harvey avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.7 million contract Thursday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
Harvey dealt with back problems last season, which limited him to just six appearances after the Royals acquired him via trade. He enters spring training healthy and should be a key setup man if he can stay off the injured list.
Harvey (back) won't return in 2024, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
Harvey has not made sufficient progress while rehabbing his back injury, and the Royals have opted to shut him down instead. He'll end the season with a 4.44 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 55:16 K:BB over 50.2 innings while adding a save and 28 holds across 49 appearances between the Nationals and the Royals.
Harvey (back) resumed playing catch last week but remains without a clear timeline for returning from the 15-day injured list, MLB.com reports.
After landing on the IL on Aug. 10 with mid-back tightness, Harvey was cleared to resume throwing off a mound three weeks later, but he was shut down from throwing for a week after he didn't respond as well as hoped to the bullpen session. The Royals haven't indicated that Harvey has experienced any setbacks since he started playing catch, but it's unclear if he'll be ready to get back on the mound in the coming days. Before being deactivated, Harvey had accrued a 4.44 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 55:16 K:BB across 50.2 innings while notching two wins, one save and 28 holds in 49 relief appearances between the Royals and Nationals on the season.
