The Philadelphia Phillies added a much-needed right-handed reliever to their bullpen, agreeing on Wednesday to a two-year, $22 million contract with Brad Keller, league sources told The Athletic. For Keller, the multi-year guarantee is the culmination of a breakout season that began on a minor-league deal and ended with him closing postseason games.
He’ll slot into the Phillies’ bullpen as one of the primary setup men to closer Jhoan Duran. Keller, who had never averaged above 95 mph in any of his prior seven seasons, sat at 97.2 mph in 2025 with the Chicago Cubs. The Phillies have four hard-throwing relievers — Duran (100.6 mph average), José Alvarado (99.1 mph), Orion Kerkering (97.5 mph) and Keller — to deploy in the later innings.
Keller’s deal is pending a physical.
Last season, Phillies relievers ranked 29th in MLB in whiff rate (23.8 percent). They did not feature enough swing-and-miss stuff. Keller will help; his 26.9 percent whiff rate was a tick above the league average for relievers. He struck out batters at a 27.2 percent rate; that ranked 43rd among 147 qualified relievers.
The Phillies have been short on right-handed relievers for an eternity; they have acquired at least one at each of the past four trade deadlines. Adding Keller does not solve everything, but inserting him into the bullpen hierarchy between Duran and Kerkering provides the Phillies with three high-leverage weapons from the right side.
Keller’s two-year pact is the first multi-year contract the Phillies have given to an external free agent (not a re-signing) since Matt Strahm’s original two-year, $15 million deal in December 2022. In a twist, Keller’s presence will cast doubt on where Strahm fits into the 2026 bullpen puzzle.
The Phillies have fielded interest in all three of their lefty relievers — Strahm, Alvarado and Tanner Banks — this offseason. If they are spending $20 million on Keller and Alvarado next year as setup men, they could look to move off the $7.5 million owed to Strahm in 2026. The current payroll, as calculated for luxury-tax purposes, is roughly $308 million. The Phillies are still seeking a reunion with catcher J.T. Realmuto; an annual average value of approximately $15 million would push the 2026 payroll to around $323 million. Subtracting Strahm would put the Phillies closer to last season’s final payroll ($314 million), which was an intended target again.
Or the Phillies could simply keep Strahm and boast a deeper bullpen than they’ve carried into any season. It would require a bigger commitment from ownership, but the Phillies have continuously pushed the payroll boundaries as this roster ages.
They will pay Keller an $11 million annual salary, a figure higher than they have extended to any reliever in recent years.
Brad Keller celebrates after finishing off the Brewers in Game 3 of the NLDS. (Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)
Signed as a non-roster invitee by the Cubs before the 2025 season, Keller, who ranked No. 36 on The Athletic’s Free Agent Big Board and was projected by Tim Britton to receive a three-year deal worth $30 million, had a breakout year. The righty made 68 appearances (69 2/3 innings pitched), posted a 2.07 ERA with impressive peripherals and emerged as one of the best relievers for a playoff team.
A starter for much of his career, Keller, 30, saw his stuff tick up out of the bullpen. His four-seam fastball, the only pitch in his arsenal he used more than 20 percent of the time (42.6 percent), reached triple digits in April. The uptick in velocity was steady for every month last season.
Despite the move to the pen, he fully leveraged his starter’s arsenal. Keller’s sweeper emerged as his best swing-and-miss pitch to righties while the changeup was to lefties. He still utilized his sinker regularly, leading to great ground-ball numbers. Overall, Keller did everything asked of a pitcher: He missed bats (career-high 27.2 percent strikeout rate), limited free passes (8 percent walk rate) and maintained his strong ground-ball rate (56.1 percent).
Keller’s transformation began after he was released by the Chicago White Sox in the middle of the 2024 season. The Boston Red Sox added Keller and helped refine his delivery as he started to use his lower half more efficiently. The process continued with the Cubs last spring and Keller immediately impressed in camp, flashing upper-90s heat and quickly opening eyes and forcing his way onto the roster.
It wasn’t long before he was getting high-leverage outs for a team that went on to win 92 games and pushed the Milwaukee Brewers, who led MLB in wins, to five games in the National League Division Series. Despite racking up just three saves in the regular season, Keller was tasked with the ninth in the postseason, picking up two saves while working 5 2/3 innings with a 1.59 ERA.
It’s why the Phillies are betting Keller has discovered something in this second stage of his big-league career.
