Former Chicago Cubs reliever reveals how he signed with NL foe

The Chicago Cubs have had a lackluster offseason. Their biggest acquisition has been re-signing left-hander Shota Imanaga to the qualifying offer ($22.025 million), which is a solid move and adds depth to their rotation, but isn’t the “Ace” they need to take down National League Central Champions, the Milwaukee Brewers.

More News: Cubs connected to intriguing new trade target amid rampant rumors

Outside of Imanaga, the Cubs have focused their free agent signings on adding to their bullpen (11th, 3.78 ERA), but didn’t bring back one of their best bullpen arms in right-hander Brad Keller, who signed a two-year $22 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Not bringing back Keller to lock down the seventh or eighth innings to give the ball to closer Daniel Palencia for the ninth could cause the Cubs to regress and have a worse bullpen in 2026.

Brad Keller reveals how he signed with the Phillies after an exciting stint with the Chicago Cubs

Coming off the best season of his career, pitching to a 4-2 record with a 2.07 ERA, while tallying three saves and striking out 75 batters in 69.2 Innings, Keller was one of the top middle relievers on the market this free agency period and would’ve helped the Cubs’ bullpen. Signing the same deal that New York Mets reliever Luke Weaver signed, Keller, on his recent appearance on the YouTube show “Foul Territory,” revealed how his signing with the Phillies came into being.

“You know it was really cool. I had good conversations with those guys. Had a zoom call. I was actually on vacation,” Keller said on “Foul Territory.” “I was on we had a family vacation down in the [Florida] keys, and it’s kind of my agent called me. Is like, Hey, man, like, this is kind of picking up some steam, like, are you able to, you know, step away for a little bit and get on the phone? I was like, Yeah, sure. So some jumped on a zoom call front office [Dave Dombrowski and Preston Mattingly] and Caleb Cotham and those guys, and, you know, really, really liked what they had to say. And you know, some things that were brought up pitching wise that I really enjoyed. And yeah, next thing, you know, I was on a flight headed to Philly to get all my physicals done. So it was great, though. No, it was a way more enjoyable process this time. And, you know, years past.”

Keller, when asked by host Erik Kratz how he felt seeing the Cubs rebuild their bullpen and him not being a part of it, said there’s “No bad blood or ill will against them at all.”

“I love my time there they I credit them to everything this season, you know, like I said, my first taste of postseason, first taste of winning throughout the whole season. So I have no bad blood or ill will against them at all. I mean, it was by far my favorite, you know, season of playing baseball. You know, I tell everybody is, I had so much fun. The clubhouse was unbelievable. The guys in there, you know, support staff, all the way to coaching staff for the players, everything was, you know, big league as it gets. So, as far as that, you know, I loved it over there, and I got, I have no ill will.”

The Cubs need to start adding more starting pitching, or go all-in on their bullpen

Since the Cubs are unlikely to re-sign outfielder Kyle Tucker to the deal he’s seeking (approximately $400 million), their offense will be what it is minus Tucker; with the same being said about the starting rotation — barring any trades or other free-agent signings. The Cubs still have a chance to land the “Ace” or a frontline starter they need, with left-handers Framber Valdez and Ranger Suarez still on the market.

Valdez and Suarez will command long-term and lucrative deals, which is not something the Cubs deal in. Since this is the case, the Cubs should go all in on building up their bullpen. The Cubs have already added: left-handers Holby Milner and Caleb Theilbar, along with right-handers Hunter Harvey and Jacob Webb on one-year deals.

With there still a ways to go before the start of the regular season, the Cubs still have time to make a blockbuster trade to add a top-tier starter or another backend of the bullpen arm.

The post Former Chicago Cubs reliever reveals how he signed with NL foe appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/brad-keller-reveals-why-he-left-the-chicago-cubs