Cubs lose Brad Keller to Phillies – 2 years, $22 million
December 17, 2025
Cubs lose Brad Keller to Phillies – 2 years, $22 million
26 comments
NO NO NO WAIT WAIT WAIT
He was too expensive guys
[deleted]
Oh here we go again.
I don’t lose any sleep over relievers tbh. This org has shown they can get good value out of most. Their quality can vary year to year too
There is plenty to criticize the cubs for, but not paying relievers is not one of them. Jed’s biggest strength as a GM is building a bullpen out of random cheap arms.i would much rather put 11 million dollars towards a bat/starter. Not applying that 11 mil elsewhere is what can be criticized, not letting Keller walk
Didn’t they speculate that the cubs weren’t going to invest because of the looming strike?
Keller was great for us, but you can’t give him $11 mil the next two years.
I liked Brad but let’s be honest, dude has been a journeyman for most of his career, hasn’t been all that good until the Cubs worked with him. 2 years at 11per for Keller is a great payday for him, but I’m now sure he’ll repeat his success again.
Boooooo
With the Phillies paying Keller two years for $22 million, it looks like they might give him the opportunity to be a starter again. This type of contract is an overpay in my opinion for someone to strictly pitch in a relief role
If we’d have signed him, the first time he blows the lead, likely in a key moment (and he will for sure), you guys would have called Jed a dumb fuck for giving this guy $11 million/year
I’m good with this. I’d rather spend for a starter or more offense over bullpen.
The Phillies will likely regret this before the end of 2026. Brad Keller won’t be the first pitcher converted to reliever that had a flash in the pan type season.
Kind of strange to use a picture from when he was with the Royals since he hasn’t pitched for them since 2023.
I just want to let everyone in here claiming Jed has a good strategy for the bullpen know that you are wrong.
Cubs were 11th, 12th, and 13th in bullpen ERA and 19th, 19th, and 17th in bullpen fWAR the last 3 years.
We need at least a top 10 bullpen to compete, but really more like a top 5 if we want to win it all.
Just because a few shots in the dark worked last year does not mean it will happen again.
You need to invest in the bullpen, and this was not expensive.
So happy for Keller getting that contract. He deserved a decent payday after an amazing 2025.
I’m also glad the Cubs didn’t get him for that contract. He was estimated $6-12 million, with the higher end related to his desire to be a starter again. With the Phillies, he may get that opportunity. I hope he does, and I hope he dominates against everyone except the Cubs.
Shit man
I would not say lost him. would have been nice to sign but him going to Phillies is not a make or break signing. bit of overreaction with this post
Eeh this is fine. He wasn’t going to light the world on fire for us. Jed is very good at squeezing value out of the bullpen for pennies on the dollar.
Good for him. Get paid.
We simply replaced him with Maton and saved 3.75 M per year (or replaced him with Maton and Milner combined).
Wish Keller all the best, though. He was a critical part of the team and we wouldn’t have made it to the postseason without him.
What I am upset about is that they went with the Royals pic. While I liked him $11M is a bit steep for relievers.
Annoying to let him walk and once again roll the dice on being able to piece together a bullpen. 🥱
26 comments
NO NO NO WAIT WAIT WAIT
He was too expensive guys
[deleted]
Oh here we go again.
I don’t lose any sleep over relievers tbh. This org has shown they can get good value out of most. Their quality can vary year to year too
There is plenty to criticize the cubs for, but not paying relievers is not one of them. Jed’s biggest strength as a GM is building a bullpen out of random cheap arms.i would much rather put 11 million dollars towards a bat/starter. Not applying that 11 mil elsewhere is what can be criticized, not letting Keller walk
Didn’t they speculate that the cubs weren’t going to invest because of the looming strike?
Keller was great for us, but you can’t give him $11 mil the next two years.
I liked Brad but let’s be honest, dude has been a journeyman for most of his career, hasn’t been all that good until the Cubs worked with him. 2 years at 11per for Keller is a great payday for him, but I’m now sure he’ll repeat his success again.
Boooooo
With the Phillies paying Keller two years for $22 million, it looks like they might give him the opportunity to be a starter again. This type of contract is an overpay in my opinion for someone to strictly pitch in a relief role
If we’d have signed him, the first time he blows the lead, likely in a key moment (and he will for sure), you guys would have called Jed a dumb fuck for giving this guy $11 million/year
I’m good with this. I’d rather spend for a starter or more offense over bullpen.
The Phillies will likely regret this before the end of 2026. Brad Keller won’t be the first pitcher converted to reliever that had a flash in the pan type season.
Kind of strange to use a picture from when he was with the Royals since he hasn’t pitched for them since 2023.
I just want to let everyone in here claiming Jed has a good strategy for the bullpen know that you are wrong.
Cubs were 11th, 12th, and 13th in bullpen ERA and 19th, 19th, and 17th in bullpen fWAR the last 3 years.
We need at least a top 10 bullpen to compete, but really more like a top 5 if we want to win it all.
Just because a few shots in the dark worked last year does not mean it will happen again.
You need to invest in the bullpen, and this was not expensive.
So happy for Keller getting that contract. He deserved a decent payday after an amazing 2025.
I’m also glad the Cubs didn’t get him for that contract. He was estimated $6-12 million, with the higher end related to his desire to be a starter again. With the Phillies, he may get that opportunity. I hope he does, and I hope he dominates against everyone except the Cubs.
Shit man
I would not say lost him. would have been nice to sign but him going to Phillies is not a make or break signing. bit of overreaction with this post
Eeh this is fine. He wasn’t going to light the world on fire for us. Jed is very good at squeezing value out of the bullpen for pennies on the dollar.
Good for him. Get paid.
We simply replaced him with Maton and saved 3.75 M per year (or replaced him with Maton and Milner combined).
Wish Keller all the best, though. He was a critical part of the team and we wouldn’t have made it to the postseason without him.
What I am upset about is that they went with the Royals pic. While I liked him $11M is a bit steep for relievers.
Annoying to let him walk and once again roll the dice on being able to piece together a bullpen. 🥱
https://preview.redd.it/92wrb1muft7g1.png?width=1242&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c79e9676e8e359d0ed59a2a171550cc405f6506