Phillies reliever Brad Keller has torn UCL, expected to miss rest of season

The Philadelphia Phillies announced Thursday that reliever Brad Keller has a torn right UCL and is expected to miss the rest of the 2026 season. Keller was placed on the 15-day injured list after an MRI showed the tear. He said he will seek a second opinion from Dr.

Keith Meister before deciding whether to have surgery, which could sideline him for part or all of 2027. "It sucks, for sure," Keller said. "It was really weird because I felt good through my rehab process with my forearm. I felt good with my outing in Cincinnati.

He returned and pitched one scoreless inning against the Reds on July 8 before the new injury surfaced. An earlier MRI after the forearm issue in June had not shown a tear. Keller said he did not feel pain during the July 8 outing and only noticed stiffness the following morning.

Team context The 30-year-old right-hander is 2-1 with a 4.02 ERA, 32 strikeouts and three saves in 31⅓ innings over 32 appearances this season. He signed a two-year, $22 million contract with Philadelphia in the offseason. Interim manager Don Mattingly said the team noticed something was off when Keller felt soreness after playing catch following his return.

"We felt like something was kind of up because he came back and was really good," Mattingly said.