Red Sox sign veteran pitcher to a one-year deal, option Zack Kelly back to the WooSox
The Red Sox are making another move to add a veteran pitcher to the major league roster.
Boston agreed to a one-year contract with 28-year-old right-hander Brad Keller, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. Red Sox skipper Alex Cora told reporters pregame that the club hopes to have the new bullpen option active for Sunday’s series finale against the Brewers.
To make room for Keller on the major league roster, the Red Sox optioned righty reliever Zack Kelly to Triple-A Worcester.
The former longtime Royals pitcher made 114 starts for Kansas City from 2018 to 2023. This offseason, he signed a one-year deal with the White Sox and posted a 4.86 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings (five games, two starts).
The White Sox designated Keller for assignment on May 19, and he then elected free agency.
Keller is expected to pitch a similar role that Zack Kelly had while he was with Boston.
“(His role will be) similar to Kelly,” Cora said. “He’s got good stuff. He’s interesting. Where we’re at right now, using Chase for four innings two days ago and Zack for three innings yesterday, we’re short in that aspect. He’ll give us multiple innings.”
Keller has primarily been a starter during his career while in Kansas City. He initially joined the Royals after he was a Rule 5 pick in Dec. 2017 and had a strong showing in his rookie campaign, posting a 3.08 ERA over 140 1/3 frames. After remaining a free agent for most of the offseason, he opted to sign a minors pact with the White Sox and spent a month in Triple-A before joining the bigs in late April.
Kelly has spent the majority of this year with the WooSox but has been in the majors since April 24. While pitching in Boston, the righty threw 16 2/3 innings with a strong 2.16 ERA and 14 strikeouts to 10 walks. He pitched three innings on Saturday in the Red Sox's loss to the Brewers. The main reason he was optioned was to bring in a fresh arm.
“This is where we’re at roster-wise,” Cora said. “There are tough decisions we have. I’ve been saying it for a month. Tougher decisions are coming. People are going to get healthy. We’ve got a lot of good pitchers. We only can carry X amount of them. So that’s where we are right now.”
