Phillies Share Incredibly Positive Update on Brad Keller

Apr 14, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Brad Keller (40) throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs in the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Phillies Share Incredibly Positive Update on Brad Keller

Originally posted on Philadelphia Phillies on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Jul 7, 2026 5:24 PM ET

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The Philadelphia Phillies have spent the last few weeks trying to figure out their pecking order in the bullpen without Brad Keller.

Jhoan Duran is locked in as one of the best closers in the game. Orion Kerkering has been excellent as one of the setup men in front of him, but without Keller, interim manager Don Mattingly has been missing a key piece.

Others haven’t consistently stepped up, which has led to a lot of shake-ups in the relief pitching staff. Moves have constantly been made, shuttling people between Triple-A Lehigh Valley and the Major League club. That includes before the series with the Cincinnati Reds gets underway, with Kyle Backhus being optioned to Triple-A and Max Lazar being promoted to the Big League club.

Another move is going to be coming ahead of Game 2 of that series, because Keller is ready to return to the Major League roster. As shared by Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic on X, the plan is to activate the veteran on July 8.

Brad Keller set to make return to Phillies bullpen

The Phillies wanted to give him a few days to recover between his last minor league rehab assignment appearance and making his return to the Big Leagues, which makes plenty of sense.

He ended up making two appearances with Lehigh Valley as part of his rehab. Two appearances were made, giving up two runs across two innings of work before being deemed ready for activation off the injured list.

Upon his return to Philadelphia, Keller should assume working in late-game and high-leverage situations. It was what he was signed for in free agency after a breakout campaign with the Chicago Cubs in 2025, successfully transitioning to the bullpen full time.

The Phillies plan to activate Brad Keller tomorrow. They just wanted to give him a couple days between his last minor-league rehab appearance and major-league activation, Don Mattingly said.
— Charlotte Varnes (@charlottevarnes) July 7, 2026

He had a 2.07 ERA across 69.2 innings with the Cubs, producing a 1.5 bWAR in the process. Keller hasn’t been quite as dominant with the Phillies just yet, with a 4.15 ERA across 30.1 innings with 0.5 bWAR.

However, in his last appearance with the team before heading to the injured list on June 13, Keller allowed three earned runs in one inning of work against the Milwaukee Brewers. That was the first time since April 1 he was charged with multiple earned runs in an outing, and the first time since May 8 more than one run was scored against him.

Philadelphia is certainly hoping that he can quickly regain his form, since the bullpen needs help bridging that gap to Duran at the end.

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This article first appeared on Philadelphia Phillies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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