Bizarre Cubs trade could put damper on potential Royals homecoming with this reliever

The Kansas City Royals have plenty to be excited about for next season, but still have a decent sized list of needs to take care of this winter.

While the corner outfield and second base may be atop said list of needs, J.J. Picollo and the Royals' front office can't forget about some holes in their bullpen - whether it be a left-handed upgrade or another high profile late-inning reliever.

And in their search for a high-leverage replacement for Hunter Harvey, they could very well be enticed to explore a reunion with an old friend.

Brad Keller, who started his career as a starter with the Royals back in 2018, revitalized his career as reliever in the Chicago Cubs' bullpen in 2025, becoming a key piece in manager Craig Counsell's late-inning plans in the postseason.

And after the Cubs pulled off an early offseason trade with the Orioles to send Andrew Kittredge back to Baltimore - reversing the deal that the two made just months before at the deadline to send him to Chicago - there's suddenly one less high leverage arm to get in the way of Keller returning to the North Side in 2026.

Former Royal Brad Keller sees chances of Cubs return increase after early winter trade

As an unrestricted free agent, there's no guaranteeing Keller returns to the Cubs next year, but it doesn't take rocket science to see that it would make a lot of sense for both parties.

Keller gained the trust of his manager when the lights were at their brightest and according to a mid-October report from Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, there's a strong desire on Keller's end to stay in Chicago.

"“Chicago is my favorite city,” Keller said. “I love being in Chicago. I love playing for the Cubs."

"This is definitely a place that I want to come back to and enjoy," he said. "I know a lot of these guys are returning to this clubhouse, and I feel like there’s something special here."

"I would love to be a part of it, for sure," Keller said.

And from a Cubs standpoint, why would they not want to guy who just threw to a 2.07 ERA, 2.93 FIP, 0.96 WHIP and .181 BAA in 69.2 innings with them?

There's reason to believe that with Kittredge out of the mix now, there's high-leverage innings to be had in the Cubs' bullpen.

Daniel Palencia figures to be there, after he broke out to a 22 save season in his age 25 campaign, but after that there's a real gap between the next best guy under contract, with promising names like Porter Hodge and Ben Brown coming off poor 2025 campaigns.

Keller offers a familiar name, may not demand a ton in free agency and also doesn't handcuff the Cubs if they want to make big splash on a top reliever like Edwin Díaz or Robert Suarez.

However, with Hunter Harvey set to hit the open market, and given the rotating cast of characters the Royals used to cover his role in the 'pen while he was injured, there's some uncertainty on who will come alongside Lucas Erceg to cover the set-up innings for closer extraordinaire Carlos Estévez.

Given his his potential lower-financial footprint along with his familiarity with the club, a Royals reunion made a lot of sense on paper.

Where Keller ends up remains to be seen, but now that the Cubs seem to have less names who pose as locks for the 7th, 8th and 9th innings, Keller makes more and more sense there, putting a damper on the Royals' chances of landing his signature this winter.