A year after bouncing back and forth between the Red Sox’ roster and free agency, veteran righty Brad Keller received a lucrative, multi-year deal from a top National League contender Wednesday.
Keller, who pitched 11 games (largely as a fill-in) for the Sox in 2024 before resurrecting his career with a stellar 2025 season in the Cubs’ bullpen, has agreed to a two-year, $22 million deal with the Phillies, as first reported by FanSided’s Robert Murray. The 29-year-old was a highly coveted free agent this winter, an outcome that would have been hard to imagine a year ago.
Keller and the Red Sox had a unique relationship in 2024, as he was cut and then re-signed repeatedly throughout the season. Originally signed to a major league deal on May 26 after being cut by the White Sox, Keller pitched in nine games before accepting an optional assignment to Triple-A on June 24. After being recalled on August 8 and sent down again four days later, Keller elected free agency on August 13 (as was his right as a player with more than five years of MLB service time), then quickly re-signed on a new minor league deal a day later. He rejoined the major league team on August 26, only to be designated for assignment the next day. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A, but then elected free agency again. He re-signed for the final time on September 2 and spent the final month of 2024 with the WooSox before departing.
In total, Keller had a 5.84 ERA while striking out 19 batters in 24 ⅔ innings with Boston. That was enough for Chicago to give him a minor league deal which led to a breakout season in the Cubs’ bullpen. Keller logged 69 ⅔ MLB innings last year and posted a 2.07 ERA while recording three saves. He struck out 75 in the regular season, then pitched well in five postseason games, recording two saves.