Phillies bolster bullpen with righty Brad Keller on a two-year, $22 million deal

Drew Smith
December 17, 2025
Phillies
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According to multiple reports, Philadelphia has agreed to a two-year, $22 million deal with right-hander Brad Keller.

Brad Keller is a legitimate, high-leverage bullpen arm who can get outs late and miss bats doing it. Dombrowski went off his usual script to get him too. This isn’t a bargain-bin innings eater. Brad Keller was flat-out nasty in 2025.

Phillies bolster bullpen with righty Brad Keller on a two-year, $22 million deal

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In 69.2 innings with the Cubs, Keller posted a 2.07 ERA, a 0.962 WHIP, and struck out 27.2% of hitters he faced. His fastball averaged 95 mph, he leaned heavily on a slider/sweeper combo over 30% of the time, and opposing hitters couldn’t square him up.

An 86.7 average exit velocity, low barrel rate, and consistent weak contact tell the same story the eye test did. This dude was elite. That matters, because the Phillies bullpen badly needed another right-handed weapon it could trust in innings six through nine.

Phillies Bullpen Right Now:

Keller
Kerkering
Alvarado
Strahm
Duran

That’s great depth with leverage, matchup flexibility, and actual answers when games get tight in October.

The underrated part of this move is Brad Keller’s versatility.

He’s primarily a reliever now, but he also has 117 career starts under his belt. If the Phillies ever need length, spot starts, or creative bullpen usage during the grind of a season, Keller gives them options without panic.

The Phillies bullpen just got a whole lot scarier.

Brad Keller lands in Philadelphia!

After a breakout year with the Cubs, where he pitched his way into late innings and even closing opportunities, Keller now joins a stacked Phillies bullpen. He’ll be a weapon at the back end alongside Jhoan Duran. https://t.co/K5vPr8lu1y pic.twitter.com/mRYwIsGgRQ
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) December 17, 2025