Major League Baseball’s offseason is still in its holiday lull, but that should be changing over the coming days. Below, CBS Sports has gathered all of Sunday’s most notable moves and murmurs in one convenient spot for your viewing pleasure.
Cubs sign Harvey
The Cubs have reached a one-year, $6 million agreement with reliever Hunter Harvey, according to ESPN.
Harvey, 31, was once a top prospect. His career has largely been impacted by injury, however, to the extent that he’s thrown 185 innings across parts of seven seasons. Last year, Harvey threw 10 innings for the Royals, compiling a 0.00 ERA and an 11 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Harvey continues to possess loud stuff, including a mid-to-upper-90s fastball, a splitter, and a pair of breaking balls. There’s no telling how often he’ll be available for manager Craig Counsell to deploy. But, when healthy, Harvey has a chance to be a quality addition to the Chicago bullpen.
Reds acquire outfielder
The Reds added one outfielder to their mix on Saturday morning, inking former Athletic J.J. Bleday to a one-year contract. Still not satisfied, the Reds then agreed to a trade with the Marlins that netted them Dane Myers in exchange for outfield prospect Ethan O’Donnell.
Myers, 29, enjoyed a strong start to last season, posting a .711 OPS in 66 first-half games. Alas, his performance fell apart after the All-Star Game passed. In his final 40 games, he batted just .143/.217/.219 with three times as many strikeouts as walks.
Myers does have enough encouraging underlying attributes to envision him contributing to the Reds in a more positive manner than his numbers indicate. He hits the ball hard, he minds the strike zone, and he’s a fast runner who plays a good outfield.
As it stands, the Reds will likely platoon Bleday and Myers while staffing the rest of their outfield with TJ Friedl and Noelvi Marte.