Phillies to sign former Cubs, Royals 6’5” pitcher to $22 million deal

Phillies to sign former Cubs, Royals 6’5” pitcher to $22 million deal originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Philadelphia Phillies have made a few key moves so far this offseason, re-signing Kyle Schwarber to a huge $150 million five-year deal and signing Adolis Garcia to a $10 million one-year contract.

Both of those moves help to bolster the lineup and are great starts to the offseason. But the Phillies still have more moves they need to make to shore up the roster for a World Series push in 2026.

One area of the roster that needs some improvement is the bullpen. According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, the Phillies are making such a bullpen addition, as they’re signing a former Chicago Cubs reliever to a two-year, $22 million deal.

Phillies to sign former Cubs reliever to $22 million deal

“News: Philliesa re finalizing a deal with righty reliever Brad Keller, sources said,” Gelb reports. “Two years, $22 million.”

Keller is a 30-year-old reliever who was once a starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals. While he posted a few solid years for the Royals, by the end of his time in Kansas City, he began to struggle.

From 2021 until 2023, Keller had a 5.14 ERA in 72 total games and 57 starts. In 2024, he had a 5.44 ERA with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox.

But after joining the Cubs in 2025, he broke out in a major way as a reliever. He had a 2.07 ERA in 68 games for the Cubs, striking out 75 batters over 69.2 innings pitched with a 0.962 WHIP in his best season since becoming a reliever.

More: Phillies get good news on Tatsuya Imai’s free agency interest

His fastball jumped up four miles per hour from 2024 to 2025, and a breakout season out of the bullpen landed him a very strong payday from the Phillies.

$22 million is not chump change, especially for a reliever. The Phillies are spending big and getting a new setup man for Jhoan Duran for the next two seasons.

The new-look bullpen for 2026, with Duran closing and Keller among the team’s set-up options, is looking like it could be one of the best in the Major Leagues.

Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies are investing in their bullpen, and more moves could be coming this offseason as Philadelphia gears up for another World Series push.