ORLANDO — With several holes in their bullpen, the Yankees have shown interest in free agent right-hander Brad Keller, a source confirmed to the Daily News.
The source added that nothing was imminent and that two or three teams are looking at the 30-year-old as a starter following a breakout season in the Cubs’ bullpen. However, the Yankees are looking at Keller as a reliever after he recorded a 2.07 ERA and a 27.2 K% over 69.2 innings in 2025.
The New York Post’s Joel Sherman first mentioned the Yankees’ interest in Keller.
Keller came up as a starter in Kansas City’s system and had success in their rotation from 2018-2020, logging a 3.50 ERA over 78 games and 57 starts. However, he posted a 5.18 ERA with the Royals, White Sox and Red Sox from 2021-2024. That stretch included 88 games and 59 starts, as well as surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in 2023, and left Keller with nothing but a minor league contract from the Cubs last winter.
Now Keller is poised for a payday after shining in The Windy City.
Theoretically, the Yankees could use Keller as a swingman if they were to sign him, as starters Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt will all start the season on the injured list and are coming off surgeries. Meanwhile, Max Fried, Cam Schlittler and Will Warren all had career-high workloads in 2025. There’s also the injury prone Luis Gil and the recently re-signed Ryan Yarbrough, who is already familiar with swingman duties.
But the Yankees’ bullpen is also short on bodies. Devin Williams defected to the Mets in free agency, and Luke Weaver is also on the open market. Brian Cashman said that he has been in touch with Weaver’s agent, but he didn’t say anything beyond that.
As of now, the backend of the Yankees’ bullpen includes closer David Bednar, setup men Fernando Cruz and Camilo Doval, and southpaw side-armer Tim Hill. Keller would upgrade that group while also adding velocity to the unit, as his fastball averaged 97.1 mph last season. That put him in the 88th percentile.
Heat was hard to come by for the Yankees’ bullpen in 2025, as their relievers ranked in the bottom half of the league in average fastball velocity and in the bottom five in fastball usage last season.
Cashman acknowledged the lack of gas on Sunday, though he declined to say it was a “weakness” for the Yankees in 2025.
“High-end velo is harder for hitters,” Cashman noted. “It just takes away the ability for hitters a little bit more to gear up, and it lets all the other stuff play. I have always gravitated to big velo, especially out of the pen, so we’ll see where it takes us.”
To Cashman’s point, Keller also ranked in the 99th percentile in Hard-Hit% last season, and his expected ERA, expected batting average, average exit velocity, and groundball rate all ranked in the 93rd percentile or better.
Keller, whose fastball averaged just 93.8 mph in 2024, also throws a slider, sinker, sweeper and changeup.
