After Harvey, what's next for Royals ahead of Deadline?

This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers’ Royals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

KANSAS CITY – As a North Carolina native, a 2013 first-round Draft pick of the Orioles and then a reliever with the Nationals the past 2 1/2 seasons, Hunter Harvey has spent most of his life on the East Coast.

But he’s always told his dad, two-time All-Star pitcher Bryan Harvey, and friends that Kansas City would be a place he’d like to play.

Harvey has been to Kansas several times before for deer hunting. And he’s not keen on city living, preferring suburban neighborhoods or the countryside to the hustle and bustle. So when the Royals acquired him on July 14 to upgrade their ‘pen, Harvey was excited for the opportunity.

“The idea of being able to live outside the city is nice,” Harvey said. “I feel like it’s almost like home.”

Harvey is settling into his new city and his new team after moving his family to the Midwest, making the 13-hour drive from North Carolina to Kansas City over the All-Star break. With a son who turns 1 next week, Harvey and his wife, Summer, are glad to have that drive behind them.

“I feel like I’m going to fit in,” Harvey said about his new Royals teammates. “These guys seem pretty laid back and that they have a good time, so I think it’s going to be a fun second half.”

It was no secret that the Royals have been looking for bullpen help as the July 30 Trade Deadline nears, and they feel like they made a major upgrade by adding Harvey. Despite his 4.20 ERA with the Nats, they were encouraged by his underlying numbers. Kansas City lacks a big power arm in its ‘pen, so Harvey’s 98 mph fastball can be one solution. He pairs it with a curveball, slider and splitter.

“A lot of times it depends on the day, what’s working the best,” Harvey said. “I love attacking guys with my heater and going at them.”

In his Royals debut on Saturday, Harvey allowed one run on two hard-hit doubles on his fastball. But his splitter movement really left an impression, and he struck out two with that pitch.

“He’s going to pitch a lot of big innings for us,” manager Matt Quatraro said.

Harvey possesses strikeout stuff, with a 27.8% strikeout rate the past two-plus seasons with the Nationals. His 3.17 FIP this year is also encouraging. He’s been used as a setup man with Washington but can handle high-leverage innings, and he told the Royals he’s all for whatever they need at the back end of games.

“Just stay ready,” Harvey said. “I’ll pitch whatever role they want me to throw in. I got no problem doing whatever they need me to do.”

The Royals feel like they checked a major box with Harvey’s acquisition, but it doesn’t mean they’re done adding as the Deadline nears.

“We have to be open to it,” general manager J.J. Picollo said Friday. “If there’s opportunity to add to this club and make this club a little bit better, we certainly want to do that. [The bullpen] was the biggest case for us, the No. 1 target for us. I don’t want to say we’re done.”

The Royals-Nationals trade was one of the first big ones of the Deadline season, and Picollo wanted to be aggressive when looking to add. He was willing to use an MLB Draft pick, too, which sped up the talks.

The Royals' targets don’t change now, though, with more bullpen help and a bat – in the outfield or at third base, or a versatile player who can do both – being the focus. They are looking for players with years of control beyond 2024, too.

“We want to be aggressive,” Picollo said. “We want to do what we need to do for this team. But at the same time, we want to be aware of what our future looks like. So we’ll be a little more calculated moving forward in what we might give in return.”