Brad Keller's injury could have the Phillies exploring a reunion with a Blue Jays reliever

Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Phillies learned that they may no longer have the services of one of their core relievers in the bullpen for a significant period of time. The Phillies announced that 30-year-old right-hander Brad Keller has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right pitching elbow and will be out for the rest of the 2026 season, as per Jeff Passan. The worry is the fact that it could even go beyond that if it requires Tommy John surgery to fix.

As a result, the Phillies will be forced to pursue a long-term solution for their relief corps. With Keller landing on the IL, Philadelphia could turn to the Toronto Blue Jays for a potential reunion with an old friend. That pitcher is none other than Jays reliever Jeff Hoffman.

Can the struggling Blue Jays reliever actually be the ideal replacement for Keller for the Phillies?

Things sure haven’t gone as smoothly for Hoffman since his departure from the Phillies following the 2024 MLB season. Despite having helped the Blue Jays in their run to the World Series in 2025, the 33-year-old veteran reliever has struggled with consistency throughout his tenure with Toronto.

Last season as the Jays closer, Hoffman sported a less-than-stellar 4.37 ERA with seven blown saves while giving up the second most home runs by an MLB reliever with 15. This season, things have gotten even worse for the veteran right-hander. Not only has Hoffman lost his closer’s role to Louis Varland, but he has also posted a dismal 4.57 ERA, 1.40 WHIP with four blown saves on the year. On the bright side, Hoffman has managed to record 10 holds in a setup role, accompanied by a 34.8% strikeout rate, which is the highest of his MLB career.

With all of that in mind, he could be the ideal replacement for Keller for Philadelphia. After all, Keller had been the key setup man for Phillies closer Jhoan Duran despite sporting an ERA close to 4.00. More importantly, he had registered 13 holds on the season, including a string of nine straight between May 23 and June 10.

Hoffman essentially could provide exactly that, in addition to having a far superior strikeout ability than Keller. More significantly, he had his best years of his MLB career in a Phillies uniform, as he compiled an impressive 2.28 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, along with 158 strikeouts in 118.2 total innings in his two seasons with Philadelphia.

Perhaps a potential change of scenery by returning to his old stomping grounds can help him rediscover his previous dominant form. As for the Phillies, they can benefit by having Hoffman become their short and long-term solution for however long Keller will be out.

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