Brad Keller

Brad Michael Keller

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 230 lb.
• High School Flowery Branch High School
• Debut March 29, 2018

• Born July 27, 1995 in Flowery Branch, GA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Brad Keller reached the majors in 2018.

Keller was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the eighth round of the 2013 amateur draft. After going 10-9 with the AA Jackson Generals in 2017, he was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2017 Rule V Draft. The Reds then turned around and traded him to the Kansas City Royals. He made his big league debut on Opening Day 2018, putting in a scoreless inning of relief work against the Chicago White Sox. That marked the start of a good rookie season, one in which he made 20 starts in 41 appearances and finished at 9-6, 3.08 while throwing 140 1/3 innings.

From 2019 to 2021, he was exclusively a starter for the Royals, making 63 starts in that three-year span, including the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. That abbreviated season was the best of the three, as he put up an excellent ERA of 2.47 while going 5-3 in 9 starts. He pitched his first career shutout on September 13th against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and while many of the complete games and shutouts thrown that strange season were of the seven-inning variety, coming during doubleheaders, his went the full 9 innings, as he gave up just 5 hits and 1 walk in an 11-0 win. The shutout tied him for the American League lead. The two seasons that bookended that strong one were not as good however, as he was 7-14, 4.19 in 2019, and 8-12, 5.39 in 2021.

He lost his job in the starting rotation in mid-August of 2022 after going 6-13 with an ERA of 4.93 in 22 starts through that date. The move to the bullpen did not right things, however, as in 13 appearances after the move, his ERA was 6.23. He did pick up his first career save on September 22nd by throwing a scoreless inning that finished a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins, but overall it was not a good season. In 2023, he struggled badly with his control, as in 11 games and 41 1/3 innings, he managed to issue an astounding 45 walks while striking out just 31 batters. Yet, in spite of all that traffic on the bases, his record was 3-4, 4.57.

He became a free agent after the 2023 season and had to wait until the following March to find a team, signing with the Chicago White Sox after spring training had already got under way. He did not know it, but he was joining what was going to be one of the worst teams in baseball history as the White Sox would go on to lose 121 games in 2024. He wasn't around to witness all of that though, as he pitched just 5 games for Chicago, including a pair of starts, going 0-2, 4.86, before being let go at the end of May. He was picked up by the Boston Red Sox and made another 11 appearances for them, all out of the bullpen, going 0-2, 5.84 with 1 save. His career was going nowhere at that point, especially as the Red Sox had him designated for assignment at the end of August, so that he could be outrighted to AAA, but he caught a break the following January when he was signed to a minor league contract by the Chicago Cubs.

Mitch defied expectations when he made the Cubs' staff out of spring training in 2025 after being left off the group of players who went to Japan for a two-game season-opening series against the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier in March. He ended up spending the entire season in Chicago, pitching 68 games, all of them out of the bullpen except for one game as an opener on May 10th. He pitched very well, going 4-2, 2.07 with 3 saves and just 45 hits allowed in 69 2/3 innings. Two years after struggling badly with his control, his K/W ratio was excellent, at 75/22. He then pitched five times in the postseason, giving up just 1 run 5 2/3 innings and picking up 2 saves. When he became a free agent again after that season, the situation was very different from the year before, as he was now sought after by numerous suitors. On December 17th, he settled on the Philadelphia Phillies, signing a two-year contract worth $22 million, a far cry from the situation the year before. Shortly thereafter, he announced that he had accepted an invitation to pitch for Team USA at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Further Reading

• Michael Clair: "New Phillies reliever Brad Keller joins Team USA's bullpen", mlb.com, January 16. 2026. [1]
• Todd Zolecki: "Reliever Brad Keller, Phillies agree to 2-year deal", mlb.com, December 17, 2025. [2]

Related Sites

• Brad Keller on mlb.com