KC Royals players happy to see team make trade as they push toward MLB playoffs

It’s sometimes easy to forget about the human element of sports, especially when a team makes a trade.

While fans welcomed the news Saturday of a trade that brings relief pitcher Hunter Harvey to the Royals, the team had to make a move to open a spot for him on its 40-man roster.

Right-handed pitcher Nick Anderson was designated for assignment, and Royals players said Sunday they were sad their teammate won’t be with them for the second half of the season.

“It’s tough to see Ando leave. He was well-loved in this clubhouse,” relief pitcher Kris Bubic said. “But at the same time, it’s exciting to go out and make a move, especially with a couple of weeks left until the trade deadline. It sends a message to us that we’re competing for something this year and we’re going to play competitive baseball in the second half.

“We’ll welcome Hunter in with open arms. We know he’s a guy down there who can contribute, especially in the later innings.”

Harvey, 28, appeared in 43 games for the Nationals this season with 50 strikeouts in 45 innings. He is the son of former Angels/Marlins closer Bryan Harvey.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro expects to use Harvey in high-leverage spots in the second half of the season.

Harvey wasn’t in Boston Sunday. He will join the Royals on Friday after the All-Star break and will wear No. 56.

“The thing that we heard about him — you don’t want to overstate it — is how competitive he is and he wants to take the ball,” said Scott Sharp, the Royals’ senior vice president, major league operations/assistant general manager. “The good thing is we have a lot of other capable relievers in our bullpen so that helps manage the workload to give everybody a proper rest.”

The Royals’ bullpen entered Sunday’s game with a 4.26 ERA, which ranked 21st in Major League Baseball. But the Royals’ relief corps has allowed just 27% of inherited runners to score, the second-best percentage in the majors behind the Guardians.

Adding the 6-foot-3, 233-pound Harvey should give the KC bullpen a boost.

Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino was happy to see general manager J.J. Picollo make the trade.

“J.J.’s got to make the moves that he thinks are gonna help the Kansas City Royals,” Pasquantino said. “And as a Kansas City Royal, I’m excited to see us do things.

“It’s the first time since I’ve been up (in the big leagues) that we’ve been in a position where we’re adding, not subtracting, at the deadline. Not that we’re at the deadline yet, but it’s a cool spot to be in.“