Cubs’ Craig Counsell reveals dire injury update on key pitcher

The Chicago Cubs have been absolutely ravaged by injuries this season, especially when it comes to their pitching staff. Their starting rotation has been absolutely decimated, and their bullpen has also taken some hits.

Somehow, the Cubs have managed to stay afloat and are firmly in the National League playoff picture, but you do have to wonder just how much longer they will hold up with such uncertainty on the mound.

While Chicago is dealing with injuries to known commodities like Cade Horton, Justin Steele, Edward Cabrera and Jameson Taillon, the club also has a sneaky injury in its bullpen: right-hander Hunter Harvey, who has been sidelined with right triceps inflammation since April.

Harvey was expected to be a big piece of the pen this season, with his impressive velocity giving him good strikeout potential. But the Cubs haven’t gotten much of a chance to see him, and manager Craig Counsell provided an update on the situation recently.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound too good.

Chicago Cubs’ Hunter Harvey might not return this season

Counsell revealed that Harvey does not seem close to returning and that “we’re going to have to push through” if the flamethrower is going to pitch again in 2026.

“We haven’t been completely asymptomatic,” Counsell said, via Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “We know what we’re dealing with, but we’re not sure how it’s going to affect recovery, so we’re just going to have to go.”

Harvey has made four appearances out of the Cubs’ bullpen this season, allowing three runs on five hits while logging four strikeouts over five innings of work. Injuries are nothing new for the 31-year-old, as he missed most of the 2025 campaign with the Kansas City Royals due to a shoulder issue and an abductor injury.

The former first-round pick entered the big leagues with the Baltimore Orioles in 2019 and has registered a lifetime 3.19 ERA and 9.8 K/9 across 186 relief outings. His best year came with the Washington Nationals in 2023, when he posted a 2.82 ERA and 0.940 WHIP while racking up 67 punchouts through 60.2 frames.

If Chicago can get Harvey back at some point this season, it would obviously represent a massive boost for the bullpen, but based on Counsell’s latest assessment of the righty, it doesn’t appear that he is all that optimistic.

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