One of the best stories from 2025 came from Chicago, as Brad Keller transformed from a journeyman starter to an excellent reliever. Now, he’ll get rewarded for his terrific 2025 campaign, as the Phillies have reportedly agreed to sign him to a two-year deal.

A Look at Keller

Veteran pitcher Brad Keller started his career as a groundball-heavy starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals. His high-water mark arguably came in the shortened 2020 campaign when Keller posted a 2.47 ERA over nine starts.

However, starting pitching wasn’t too kind to Keller after that season. He posted ERA figures north of 5.00 in 2021 and 2022, and eventually transitioned out of the rotation and into MLB bullpens as a reliever. Things changed, though, for Keller as a Chicago Cub.

Keller, who signed a Minor League contract with the Cubs last winter, became a key piece of the Chicago bullpen this year. He was one of several unheralded finds for the team, who also struck gold with Caleb Thielbar — who just re-signed with the Cubs — and new Angels reliever Drew Pomeranz.

The 30-year-old posted a 2.07 ERA across 69.2 IP for the Cubs with 75 strikeouts. He also posted a career-best 26.9% Whiff% and his best Barrel% (3.6) since that aforementioned 2020 campaign.

His .238 wOBA ranked 14th-best among MLB relievers with at least 30 appearances.

Bullpen life treated Keller well for several reasons. One, his velocity ticked up in shorter outings. Keller mainly sat in the 95 MPH range with both his four-seamer and two-seamer as a starter. This past season, he averaged over 97 MPH and threw as hard as 100 MPH.

He wound up missing more bats with the increase in velocity. The Whiff% on his sinker jumped to 25.4%, up significantly from 2024 (18.2%).

Second, Keller has a relatively deep arsenal. While he ditched the knuckle-curve he was using in 2023 and 2024, he maintained using both his sinker and cutter-like four-seamer, as well as the changeup, slider, and sweeper. The sweeper is a relatively new addition to his arsenal.

The new Phillies still used all five pitchers with regularity. His four-seamer saw nearly 50% usage in 2025. However, the other four were used at least 10% of the time.

Keller remains a heavy ground-ball pitcher. He posted an exceptionally high 56.6% GB% this past season with the Cubs.

Per reports, the Phillies will sign Brad Keller to a two-year deal worth $22MM.

Analysis

It was reported in the New York Post earlier this winter that MLB teams were considering signing Keller as either a starter or reliever. After all, the veteran right-hander has a deep pitch mix and experience as a starter, both positives for teams looking for a cheaper alternative to help the rotation.

Keller, though, worked very well out of the bullpen this past season.

Assuming Keller sticks as a reliever in Philadelphia over the course of the next two seasons, the 30-year-old right-hander has the chance to lock down a very good bullpen. The Phillies entered with Jhoan Duran as the closer, with Matt Strahm, Tanner Banks, Orion Kerkering, and Jose Alvarado filling out the rest of the core.

It’s a deep bullpen, one that can provide manager Rob Thomson with different looks, between the hard-throwing Duran, a fastball/sweeper pitcher in Kerkering, and Keller.

And as far as the big picture is concerned, the move takes yet another reliever off the board.

Check out more of our MLB coverage.