Cleveland Guardians Urged To Sign This Former Boston Red Sox Pitcher

The Cleveland Guardians are in need of starting pitching help, and an interesting option just became available for them.

Jun 13, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Brad Keller (46) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians are in desperate need of help in their starting rotation. This is no secret, as everyone who has watched a sliver of baseball this season knows this.

The problem is that the Guardians don't exactly have many options for answers. That is, of course, unless they catch lightning in a bottle somewhere.

The Boston Red Sox waived right-handed pitcher Brad Keller, who has elected to choose free agency (via Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com). That means he is available for Cleveland to sign outright.

James Mastrucci of Away Back Gone feels it may be a good idea for the Guardians to add him.

At this point, it couldn't hurt, especially with trade deadline acquisition Alex Cobb on the injured list due to a broken fingernail.

Keller has played for both the Chicago White Sox and the Red Sox this season, primarily pitching out of the bullpen. In 16 appearances and two starts, he has gone 0-4 with a 5.44 ERA while allowing 48 hits and registering 32 strikeouts over 41.1 innings of work.

Those aren't exactly eye-opening numbers, but for a Cleveland squad that is in dire need of starting pitching solutions, Keller may be worth a shot.

Guardians fans may remember Keller from his time with the Kansas City Royals, where he pitched from 2018 through 2023. Throughout that tenure, he pitched to the tune of a respectable 4.27 ERA.

It should be noted that most of Keller's positive contributions with the Royals came between 2018 and 2020. Since then, he has posted a sub-5.00 ERA just once, which came in a very small sample size last season.

Cleveland has shown it isn't afraid to experiment with its pitching staff this year. It gave Spencer Howard a shot earlier in the season, and it also signed Matthew Boyd, who has actually been pretty effective thus far.

Perhaps the Guardians will continue exploring their options and add Keller into the mix.