Chicago White Sox DFA Brad Keller, Activate Dominic Leone From Injured List

In order to make room for Dominic Leone in their bullpen, the Chicago White Sox had to designate longtime Kansas City Royals pitcher Brad Keller for assignment.

May 3, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Brad Keller (46) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago White Sox have designated right-handed pitcher Brad Keller for assignment, the team announced Monday.

Chicago made the move in order to free up space for right-handed pitcher Dominic Leone, who was activated from the 15-day injured list. The swap was first reported on Sunday by Sox Machine's James Fegan.

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— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 20, 2024

The White Sox signed Keller to a minor league deal in March. He had spent the previous six seasons with the Kansas City Royals.

Keller made his MLB debut back in 2018, and he was part of Kansas City's starting rotation through 2023. After going 21-23 with a 3.50 ERA and 1.285 WHIP between 2018 and 2020, Keller went 17-30 with a 5.14 ERA and 1.629 WHIP from 2021 to 2023.

In five appearances with the White Sox – two of which were starts – Keller went 0-2 with a 4.86 ERA and 1.380 WHIP. The 28-year-old last took the mound Saturday against the New York Yankees, allowing four home runs and five earned runs in 4-plus innings of work.

Keller lost his roster spot to Leone, who has been out since May 4 with lower-back tightness. He stayed on the injured list for the minimum 15 days and did not require a rehab stint.

Leone was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA, 1.705 WHIP and -0.6 WAR this season before he went down.

The 32-year-old righty first reached the big leagues back in 2014, posting a 2.17 ERA in 57 relief appearances for the Seattle Mariners. Leone went on to have a few more impressive campaigns – putting up a 2.56 ERA in 65 games with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017 and a 1.51 ERA in 57 games with the San Francisco Giants in 2021 – but has largely been a journeyman over the past decade.

Leone pitched for the Mariners, New York Mets and Los Angeles Angels in 2023. He has also suited up for the Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Guardians in his career, boasting a 3.92 ERA between all of his former clubs.

Chicago signed Leone to a minor league deal in February.

The White Sox and their rearranged pitching staff are set to open up a road series against the Blue Jays on Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 3:07 p.m. ET.

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