The Phillies built their bullpen around Brad Keller as the bridge to closer Jhoan Duran, and now that bridge is out. Keller signed a two-year, $22 million deal with Philadelphia this past offseason after a career year in Chicago, and 7 months into it he's already looking at a lost season and possibly a chunk of the next one.
Phillies Place Brad Keller On IL With UCL Tear t.co/HKN4l6fXzf
Jeff Passan put numbers to how bad this could get. He reported Keller is expected to miss the rest of 2026, and if he ends up needing surgery on the elbow, it could wipe out a significant chunk — maybe all — of 2027 as well. That's the entire back half of a 2-year contract gone before it really got going.
Phillies reliever Brad Keller has a torn UCL and is expected to miss the rest of the season. If he undergoes surgery on his right elbow, it would keep him out a significant portion, if not all, of 2027 as well. Keller signed a two-year, $22 million deal over the winter.
The backstory makes this sting more. Keller was 4-2 with a career-low 2.07 ERA for the Cubs last season, striking out 75 in 69 2/3 innings, then went out and dominated in the postseason with a 1.59 ERA and 2 saves. That's exactly the kind of resume that gets a reliever a multi-year deal and a bridge role in front of a closer like Duran — and exactly the kind of resume that makes this injury feel like such a gut punch for a Philadelphia team building a bullpen around him.
Reports out of Philly add a wrinkle: Keller says his original MRI, taken after an earlier forearm issue, showed no tear at all. Whatever happened, happened somewhere between a rehab start and an outing in Cincinnati. Now he's reportedly getting a second opinion before a likely Tommy John procedure, which typically runs a 12 to 14-month recovery — the exact math behind Passan's 2027 worry.
For the Phillies, this isn't just about one arm. Losing the primary setup man to Duran mid-season forces the coaching staff to reshuffle late-inning roles on the fly, and the front office now has a decision to make on the trade market for bullpen help before the deadline. Keller's deal doesn't get any cheaper while he's rehabbing — Philadelphia is paying $7 million this year for a reliever who might not throw another competitive pitch until 2027, if that.