The Phillies announced that reliever Brad Keller underwent a UCL reconstruction (Tommy John surgery) with an internal brace and flexor repair on Wednesday. The recovery is 13-16 months, so there’s a decent chance he’ll miss the entire 2027 season.

Keller was already known to be out for this season after being diagnosed with a UCL tear around the All-Star Break. That makes today’s development, while unfortunate, not unexpected. It’s a tough setback for a pitcher who had already needed to carve out a second act after undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in 2023. He reinvented himself as a high-leverage reliever with the Cubs a season ago, working to a 2.07 ERA across 69 2/3 innings.

That earned the righty a two-year, $22MM free agent deal from Philadelphia over the winter. That’ll go down as a near-complete loss for the team if Keller does miss all of next season. He pitched 31 1/3 frames this year, allowing a 4.02 ERA while collecting 13 holds and three saves. He missed the second half of June with forearm tendinitis before this much more significant elbow injury.

Keller’s injury has already led the Phils to search for a reliever on the trade front. Jonathan Bowlan has moved up the leverage hierarchy but left them more exposed in the middle innings. Today’s loss to finish a sweep at the hands of the Marlins was a good example. Interim skipper Don Mattingly called upon Seth Johnson in the seventh inning to try to protect a 6-4 lead behind Jesús Luzardo. Johnson served up a game-tying, two-run single to Xavier Edwards. Bowlan, then called upon for a tied game in the eighth, surrendered what proved to be the game-winning home run to Griffin Conine.

That dropped Philly into a tie with the Diamondbacks for the NL’s last Wild Card spot. They’re clear deadline buyers but weighing the bullpen against the need for at least a fifth starter (arguably a mid-rotation arm to push Aaron Nola into the #5 role) and a right fielder.

Keller will spend the remainder of the season on the 60-day injured list. He’ll need to be reinstated onto the 40-man roster over the winter. If the Phillies expect him to miss the entire season, they could release him to open the roster spot (as the Mets did with Frankie Montas last offseason). It’s unlikely they’d do that as long as there’s hope he can return for a ’27 playoff push.