Marlins Named Fit for Reliever Who Had Breakout Season With Cubs
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It sounds like the Miami Marlins will be shopping around in the reliever market this offseason.
Despite that unit putting up a better cumulative ERA than the starting staff this year, there is much more reason to be optimistic about what the rotation can provide in 2026 based on who is set to return from injury and who is coming up the pipeline.
Adding established bullpen arms would do the Marlins wonders, so it's not a surprise they continue to be mentioned as a possible suitor for many of the free agents out there. How much money the ownership group is willing to spend in that category isn't clear, which makes it hard to predict who exactly they'll pursue.
However, in the mind of Sean McCormack of Fish On First, he believes Brad Keller would be a good fit in Miami based on what he did during his breakout season with the Chicago Cubs this year.
Brad Keller Is Intriguing Option for Marlins
After struggling as a starter for most of his career, he fully embraced a relief role with the Cubs. That decision turned out to be the right one, as he finished 2025 with an ERA of 2.07 and an ERA+ that was 87 points above the league average across 68 appearances.
"The major difference-maker for the 30-year-old this season was an extreme fastball velocity increase from 93 mph to 97 mph—that coincided with a jump in spin rate on all his pitches. Carrying those pitch characteristics into 2026 should yield similar results," wrote McCormack.
What the Marlins have to figure out is if they think his 2025 performance is repeatable. There have been countless examples of starters resurrecting their careers after moving into the bullpen. However, despite the 68-game sample size, it's also hard to predict whether or not Keller will be that same type of pitcher once again.
BIG out from Brad Keller. 👏 pic.twitter.com/GPGx3AoOIn
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) October 9, 2025
A crucial thing for Miami will be the price tag of Keller. Spotrac has his market value at an eye-catching one-year, $1.8 million salary. If that's all it would cost to bring the right-hander on board, then they should get that done immediately.
In all likelihood, though, Keller is going to land much more than that. With his elite ground ball rate that reduces hard contract at a percentage that is well below the league average, there should be plenty of suitors out there this winter who are willing to see if this 2025 performance is the start of his new career.
Whether or not the Marlins are one of those teams remains to be seen. But there's no doubt that Keller would be a good addition to this bullpen unit.
