After resurrecting his career with a standout season in the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen, Brad Keller signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
Keller, who served primarily as a starter for the first six years of his major league career, posted a 4-2 record with three saves and a 2.07 ERA in 68 games for the Cubs last year. He reportedly signed for $22 million over the two-year deal.
Keller, 30, posted an 0.962 WHIP while ranking in the 99th percentile in hard-hit rate (30.6%) and in the 95th percentile in ground-ball rate (56.6%).
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound right-hander figures to serve as a setup man in the Phillies’ bullpen that features midseason acquisition Jhoan Duran (2.06 ERA, 32 saves) in the closer’s role.
Keller has fashioned a 42-59 record with five saves and a 4.14 ERA over his eight seasons with the Kansas City Royals (2018-23), Chicago White Sox (2024), Boston Red Sox (2024) and Cubs (2025). He has struck out 7.0 batters and walked 3.9 per nine innings, but his strikeouts per nine rose (9.7) and his walks per nine dropped (2.8) with the Cubs.
