The Royals announced that right-hander Hunter Harvey was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactively to August 7 due to back problems. Right-hander Carlos Hernandez was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Due to back problems, Harvey has been unable to pitch since Aug. 4, so he will get the maximum three days of retroactive IL placement, resulting in a longer period of time off. Harvey and the Royals had hoped that some rest would allow Harvey to heal without having to go on the injured list, but Saturday’s news continues the rocky start to the reliever’s tenure in Kansas City.

KC was signed by the Nationals less than a month ago and paid a high price for the right-hander, while also considering both notable infield candidates and Cayden Wallace, as well as the 39th pick in the 2024 draft (the Royals’ Competitive Balance Round selection, the only types of draft picks that can be traded). The Royals had hoped Harvey could help solidify their bullpen, but so far he’s posted a 6.35 ERA in 5 2/3 innings in four appearances, with four walks and five strikeouts.

Those numbers are a far cry from the 4.20 ERA, 26.3% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate Harvey posted in 45 innings for Washington before the trade. Of course, you have to factor in the small sample size of Harvey’s time with the Royals, plus additional bad luck in the form of a .389 BABIP since moving from DC to KC. While most secondary metrics suggested Harvey pitched better with the Nats than his 4.20 ERA suggested, his 48.3% hard-hit ball rate ranks near the bottom of the league.

It could be that all that hard contact had to catch up with Harvey at some point, and it certainly didn’t help that he may have been dealing with back problems during that time. Harvey has a long injury history, mostly related to arm issues rather than back problems, so hopefully a 15-day absence will completely resolve the issue.

Harvey joins several other Royals relief players on the IL, John Schreiber and Dan Altavilla is expected to return towards the end of August and the team is confident Josh Taylor is expected to return sometime in September. The injuries have not helped the Royals’ efforts to improve their bullpen results or their overall goal of making the playoffs, and with Harvey out, the pressure on James McArthur and newcomer Lucas Erceg is expected to hold the position in crucial situations.