Royals Move RHP Brad Keller to Bullpen
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The Kansas City Royals' bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball for a large stretch of the 2022 season, and it's now getting some additional help from an unexpected source. Per Royals manager Mike Matheny, and originally reported by longtime Royals television broadcaster Joel Goldberg, RHP Brad Keller is being moved to the bullpen. The move is effective immediately and comes ahead of Kansas City's Wednesday afternoon game in Minnesota.
Mike Matheny just announced that Brad Keller will be moved to the bullpen as of today. Tomorrow’s starter in St Pete is now TBD
- Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) on Wednesday, August 17 at 10:41 a.m. CST
Keller does have bullpen experience, beginning his career back in 2018 as a split-starter that spent time both in the rotation and in relief. Out of the bullpen as a rookie, he pitched 22.1 innings of five-run ball (good for a 2.01 ERA) and struck out 13 hitters. That was easily Keller's best season of his career, as he's had yet to match that level of success ever since.
This season, Keller has had an up-and-down campaign. His 4.93 ERA doesn't look great on paper, nor does his 6-13 record. With that said, He has managed to eat up 122.1 innings for the Royals and has been worth 0.6 fWAR on the year. The 27-year-old has given up eight earned runs in two of his last three starts but has a one-run start sandwiched between those outings. Prior to that rough stretch of play, Keller's season ERA was 4.18.
Kansas City opted against trading Keller at this year's deadline despite him garnering serious interest and having a market. He has one more year of club control left before hitting free agency next winter. It remains to be seen whether this move was due to Keller being overworked or if the club wants to find out how dominant he can be as a reliever, and his replacement in the rotation has yet to be named. There's a lot left to sort out, but one thing is being made clear: Keller is a bullpen arm for the foreseeable future with the Royals.
