Skepticism was hard to avoid last January when the Cubs signed former Kansas City Royals starter Brad Keller. The risk was low — Chicago gave Keller only a minor league deal with the customary invitation to spring training perk — but the arrangement also wasn't loaded with obvious upside. Keller, after all, hadn't pitched consistently well since the short 2020 season when he went 5-3 with a 2.47 ERA for the Royals.
Adding injuries to the mix — Keller missed much of the 2023 season with right shoulder impingement and suffered from signs of thoracic outlet syndrome late in the same campaign — meant Keller entered the Cubs' spring camp burdened by an uncertain future.