Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Corey Knebel

Brewers, Corey Knebel Avoid Arbitration

By | at

The Brewers have avoided arbitration with right-hander reliever Corey Knebel, whom they’ve signed to a one-year contract, the team announced. Knebel had been projected to earn $5.125MM in 2020, his penultimate year of arbitration eligibility.

The 2019 campaign was a lost season for Knebel, who underwent Tommy John surgery in late March. At last check, though, Knebel was recovering well from the procedure.

Going forward, the return of a healthy Knebel should be a boon for the Brewers. The hard-throwing Knebel, now 28 years old, truly came into his own from 2017-18. During that two-year span, he posted a sterling 2.54 ERA/2.74 FIP with 14.66 K/9 and 4.25 BB/9 across 131 1/3 innings. Knebel also added 55 saves along the way. The fact that the Brewers made the postseason without him in 2019 makes their run all the more impressive, but he should be able to factor in next year as they go for a third straight playoff berth.

NL Injury Notes: Baez, Weaver, Brewers, Rockies

By | at

The Cubs will evaluate shortstop Javier Baez by week’s end to see when he’ll be able to start rehab activity, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. The club has been without Baez for just about all of September because of a hairline fracture in his left thumb, and it’s likely the injury will prevent the star from suiting up again in the regular season as Chicago tries to at least earn a wild-card berth. The Baez-less Cubs have been turning to recently recalled youngster Nico Hoerner at short, and fortunately for them, he has begun his career in outstanding fashion. Thanks in part to Hoerner’s contributions, the Cubs are 6-2 dating back to his Sept. 9 debut.

More injury updates from around the National League…

  • Diamondbacks right-hander Luke Weaver may be a “couple days” from returning to a major league mound, per Zach Buchanan of The Athletic. Weaver threw a successful bullpen session Tuesday as he works back from forearm and ulnar collateral ligament issues that have shelved him since late May. The offseason acquisition, who joined the D-backs via their Paul Goldschmidt trade with the Cardinals, had been amid a stellar campaign before landing on the shelf. Weaver owns a 3.03 ERA/3.11 FIP with 9.82 K/9 and 2.02 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings on the season. While Arizona’s playoff hopes have faded this year, the hope is Weaver and fellow young righty Zac Gallen will be among those to help drive the team back into contention in 2020.
  • Brewers righty reliever Corey Knebel is “continuing to make progress” in his recovery from the Tommy John procedure he underwent in March, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. Knebel expects to return to throwing from a mound when spring training rolls around, per Haudricourt. It’s all the more impressive on the Brewers’ part that they’re in the thick of the wild-card hunt without having received anything from Knebel, who was one of their best bullpen options from 2017-18.
  • Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland is nearing a late-season return, according to Nick Groke of The Athletic. A strained groin has kept Freeland from taking a big league mound since Aug. 20, but he’ll be able to make two more starts (albeit at just two to three innings per appearance) this year, Groke notes. Freeland will attempt to end his surprisingly dismal season on a high note when he suits up again. One of the NL’s premier pitchers just a year ago, Freeland has been just the opposite in 2019. The 26-year-old has logged a 6.98 ERA/6.13 FIP across 99 1/3 frames, and his struggles led the Rockies to demote him to the minors earlier in the season.

Corey Knebel To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By | at

Brewers reliever Corey Knebel has elected to undergo Tommy John surgery, he tells reporters including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter link). The rehab process will take him out of action for all of the 2019 season and quite likely some of 2020 as well.

Knebel had been weighing the replacement of his right ulnar collateral ligament after speaking with multiple physicians. Evidently, it was less than a clear-cut decision, but he ultimately decided to bite the bullet rather than taking an uncertain rehab course that may only have delayed the inevitable.

The 27-year-old hurler had already agreed to a $5.125MM arbitration salary in his second season of eligibility. As a former Super Two qualifier, he’s eligible twice more. Whether the Brewers elect to tender him a contract next fall may depend upon how his rehab is progressing. Knebel would stand to earn a repeat of this season’s salary, which may be a bit of an expensive gamble. The presence of another season of arb eligibility certainly boosts the merits of a tender.

No matter how the future plays out, the reality at present is that the Brewers are down a key arm in the pen. Though he wasn’t as dominant last year as he had been in 2017, Kluber still ran up 55 1/3 innings of 3.58 ERA ball while recording an eye-popping 14.3 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. Thankfully, the unit is still headlined by Josh Hader and Jeremy Jeffress (once he’s off the IL), but there’s little question it’s weakened from its ’18 levels.

Corey Knebel Weighing Tommy John Surgery

By | at

March 28: Knebel has received opinions from three doctors and is weighing whether to undergo surgery or attempt a rest and rehab approach, per Todd Rosiak and Haudricourt. He’ll make a decision tomorrow.

March 21, 8:09pm: GM David Stearns says the team still isn’t sure how to label the damage to Knebel’s UCL, as Haudricourt tweets. But the organization “know[s] it’s damaged to some extent.”

6:52pm: Knebel has an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament, Counsell told reporters this evening. (Via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; links to Twitter.) That’s certainly worrying at first glance, though it’s said not to be a complete tear of the ligament. It’s also not a new injury, though it’s not clear whether additional damage may have been incurred.

At the moment, it’s not known whether the malady will require surgery and/or end Knebel’s season before it begins. He’s slated to receive a second opinion.

12:45pm: Brewers closer Corey Knebel will have his right elbow examined today, manager Craig Counsell revealed to reporters (Twitter link via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). The Athletic’s Robert Murray had previously written that he was taking a step back from throwing due to elbow discomfort. Counsell acknowledged that there is some cause for concern.

The Knebel injury makes it all the more apparent why Milwaukee has recently been in contact with Craig Kimbrel to discuss a potential fit. It was already known that Jeremy Jeffress would open the season on the injured list — though president of baseball operations David Stearns said this week that Jeffress could be back by mid or late April. It now seems likely that Knebel will join him there to begin the year.

Knebel, Jeffress and Josh Hader combined for much of the regular season to form an overpowering bullpen trio. Each of the three posted K/9 marks of 10.5 or better, while Hader and Jeffress checked in with ERAs south of 2.50. Knebel’s ERA wasn’t quite as eye-popping, thanks largely to a late August slump, but he didn’t allow a run over his final 16 1/3 innings of the regular season and posted a ridiculous 33-to-3 K/BB ratio along the way. On the season, he averaged 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

There’s no indication that Jeffress’ shoulder issue is a long-term concern, but the situation surrounding Knebel, to this point, is more ominous (or at least more vague). If the Brewers do ultimately turn to Kimbrel in light of the bullpen issues that have cropped up this spring, they’d have to part with their fourth-round draft selection due to the fact that Kimbrel rejected a qualifying offer from the Red Sox. The Brewers already forfeited their third-round pick to sign Yasmani Grandal, and their current payroll projects at a franchise-record $127.5MM.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League

By , and | at

The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed yesterday at 1pm ET, and there has been a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track those settlements from the National League in this post. Once all of the day’s settlements have filtered in, I’ll organize them by division to make them a bit easier to parse.

It’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning that once arbitration figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year deal will cease. The two parties may still discuss a multi-year deal after that point, but the majority of players who exchange figures with their team today will head to an arbitration hearing.

As always, all salary projections referenced within this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and we’ll also be updating our 2019 Arbitration Tracker throughout the day…

Today’s Updates

  • Rounding out contract numbers for the St. Louis Cardinals, Dominic Leone will take home $1.26MM, Chasen Shreve will make $900K, and outfielder Marcell Ozuna will earn $12.25MM in his last season before free agency, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Ozuna has the most high-impact potential as he looks to rebound from a still-productive season in 2018 that saw his power output hindered at times by a balky shoulder. He still managed 23 home runs and a .280/.325/.433 slash line while playing just about every day outside of a 10-day DL stint late in August.
  • The Diamondbacks came to terms with a slew of players, per Feinsand (via Twitter), including Matt Andriese for $920K, Steven Souza Jr. for $4.125MM, shortstop Nick Ahmed for $3.6625MM, and potential closer Archie Bradley for $1.83MM.
  • The Rockies and starting pitcher Jon Gray have come to an agreement on a $2.935MM deal, per Feinsand (via Twitter). Gray had an up-and-down 2018 that is generally considered to be more promising than the optics of his 5.12 ERA make it seem.
  • The Pirates have come to terms on one-year deals with both of their arbitration eligible players, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Left fielder Corey Dickerson signs for $8.5MM, and reliever Keone Kela takes home $3.175MM. It’s a small arb class for the Pirates, whose list will grow next season as players like Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon, and Joe Musgrove, among others, reach their first season of eligibility.
  • The Dodgers signed a couple of their remaining arbitration-eligible players yesterday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links). Utility man Chris Taylor has a $3.5MM deal, while outfield Joc Pederson settled at $5MM.

Earlier Updates

Read more

Brewers Recall Two, Outright Nick Franklin

By | at

The Brewers announced that they’ve recalled a pair of pitchers – right-handers Zach Davies and Corey Knebel – and reinstated infielder/outfielder Nick Franklin from the 60-day disabled list. The team subsequently outrighted Franklin to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Davies, whom the Brewers recalled from Single-A Wisconsin, is back after missing upward of three months with shoulder problems. The 25-year-old hasn’t taken a major league mound since May 29, which was both his eighth appearance and eighth start of the season. Davies opened the year in rough fashion when he was healthy, as he notched a 5.23 ERA/5.29 FIP across 43 innings. Going back to his major league debut in 2015, all 75 of Davies’ appearances have been starts, but it’s unclear whether he’ll finish the year in Milwaukee’s rotation. The club just did acquire the more established Gio Gonzalez, after all, and it has four other set starters in Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, Junior Guerra and Wade Miley.

Knebel’s absence from the Brewers was much shorter than Davies’, as the team optioned the former to Colorado Springs on Aug. 23. On the surface, it was a surprising demotion for Knebel – who was a lights-out closer in 2017 – but the 26-year-old has taken multiple steps backward this season. While Knebel’s still bringing high-90s heat, he has only managed a 5.08 ERA/4.28 FIP through 39 major league innings in 2018. Knebel has seen his strikeout and swinging-strike rates drop since 2017, while his home run-to-fly ball percentage has skyrocketed.

Franklin, an offseason minor league signing, only totaled two PAs with the Brewers this season. The 27-year-old suffered a quad injury May 8, the same day the Brewers selected his contract from Colorado Springs, and he hasn’t played since. Franklin was formerly a well-regarded prospect with the Mariners, who chose him 27th in the 2009 draft, but he hasn’t experienced much success since debuting in the majors in 2013. Because Franklin has already been outrighted in the past, he’ll be able to choose whether to reject the Brewers’ assignment in favor of free agency.

Brewers Option Corey Knebel, Zach Davies

By | at

The Brewers have optioned righties Corey Knebel and Zach Davies, per the MLB.com transactions page. (H/t MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy & Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; Twitter links.) Davies had been on a rehab assignment following an extended absence.

This move is notable enough for what it says about two of the team’s most important pitchers heading into the season. But it’s also an intriguing development with the revocable waiver trade deadline drawing near.

[RELATED: Brewers Depth Chart]

Knebel was expected to anchor the Milwaukee pen, but carries a 5.08 ERA through 39 innings on the season. He has generated 12.7 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 along with a 50.0% groundball rate, but has also been touched for home runs on 28.0% of the flyballs put in play against him. Knebel is sitting just under 97 mph with his average fastball, but has lost some of swinging-strike gains from 2017, with his 13.9% rate falling to 11.6% this year. His struggles have deepened of late, as he has coughed up eight earned runs in his past 6 1/3 innings.

As for Davies, who turned in solid campaigns from the rotation in each of the past two years, the 2018 season has been a rough one thus far. He only managed a 5.23 ERA through eight starts before hitting the shelf with shoulder troubles. Davies has actually taken more starts in the minors this year than in the majors, owing to a halting rehab course.

While Knebel will head to Triple-A to work out the kinks, Davies was formally assigned to the organization’s nearby Class A affiliate. The reason for the latter’s placement isn’t entirely clear, but it could be that the club thinks it may need to bring him back onto the MLB roster on short notice or that he’ll be getting some added rest time without re-starting another rehab stint. Or, perhaps this is just a holding spot for the time being while the next steps are hammered out.

Both pitchers will need to remain on optional assignment for at least ten days unless an active roster spot opens due to a DL placement. It’s at least worth noting that, to this point of the season, MLB players have only accrued 147 days of service. Knebel, a Super Two this year, will cross into the 3+ service class regardless of whether he returns to the MLB roster. Davies, though, entered the campaign with 2.020 service years on his ticker and is therefore still a few days shy of reaching arbitration eligibility in the coming offseason. He would still likely qualify as a Super Two, but that’d mean pushing back his eventual free agency by one season. Whether or not that’s a factor isn’t at all clear; it certainly could be that the organization plans to bring Davies back when rosters expand, if not sooner.

For the time being, there’s no known replacement for Knebel on the active roster. Milwaukee is off today. As Rosiak notes, he could be replaced by Joakim Soria, if he’s activated from the DL tomorrow. But the open roster spot could also be filled from the outside. Several starting pitchers are rumored to be on waivers or to have cleared waivers. It’s certainly possible — but by no means certain — that the Brewers are contemplating the acquisition of an outside arm.

[RELATED: Top 20 August Trade Candidates]

Injury Notes: Snell, Dickerson, Fowler, Williams, Skaggs

By | at

As expected, the Rays have activated left-hander Blake Snell to start tonight’s game against the White Sox. The first-time All-Star will be on a limited pitch count following a two-week DL stint for left shoulder fatigue. Following a trade of Chris Archer to the Pirates, Snell looks like the only reliable starter in a Rays rotation that continues to see relievers open games more often than the starters themselves. Snell’s pre-injury performance, of course, was phenomenal; his 2.27 ERA would be more than a run lower than his career best season.

Here are a few other disabled list transactions from around the league…

  • Pirates outfielder Corey Dickerson has been activated after a short stint on the disabled list; he’d been sidelined with a left hamstring strain. They’ll surely be glad to have him back after the club traded away notable outfield depth in the form of Austin Meadows at the July 31st deadline. While he’s active, Dickerson won’t be starting today’s game against the Cardinals (though he’ll presumably be available off the bench).
  • As expected after last night’s news, Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler will hit the DL after suffering a fractured foot. Fowler’s enduring a miserable season that’s by far his career worst; he’s managed to hit an absolutely wretched .180/.278/.298 across 334 plate appearances while playing middling outfield defense. Fangraphs rates him as being 1.2 wins below replacement level on the season after a 2.5 fWAR debut with the Cards last year.
  • Switch-hitting relief pitcher Taylor Williams is headed to the DL with right elbow soreness. It’s certainly bad news for a Brewers bullpen that’s seeing Corey Knebel struggle mightily of late. Williams has tossed 42 2/3 relief innings and managed to strike out 10.43 batters per nine innings, though he’s only managed to keep the ball on the ground 34.8% of the time and has walked a batter nearly every other inning on average. Williams is in the midst of his first full season in the majors after a 4 2/3 inning cup of coffee last year.
  • Angels hurler Tyler Skaggs is headed to the disabled list with a left adductor strain, the club has announced. Skaggs has described the injury as “extremely frustrating”, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. He apparently sustained it during his last start. In his stead, the Angels have called up right-hander Taylor Cole. The Angels, of course, have already seen their rotation annihilated by injuries this year, with Garrett Richards, Shohei Ohtani, J.C. Ramirez and Matt Shoemaker among the affected starters.

Brewers Activate Corey Knebel; Wade Miley Out Four To Six Weeks

By | at

3:30pm: Miley has been told he’ll miss four to six weeks with the oblique strain (Twitter link via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

May 9, 9:44am: Milwaukee has announced the moves. Franklin is indeed going to the DL, with infielder Tyler Saladino called up to take his place on the active roster.

May 8: The Brewers announced that Wade Miley left tonight’s start with a strained right oblique muscle. He’s headed to the disabled list (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy), while closer Corey Knebel is set to be activated from the DL tomorrow. It’s also possible that infielder Nick Franklin is headed for the DL after incurring an injury on the very day he returned to the big leagues. McCalvy tweets that he left tonight’s game with a quadriceps strain and is “likely” to hit the DL.

Miley’s injury comes less than a week after he was activated from the disabled list for a groin strain that cost him the first month of the season. The 31-year-old veteran notched a very solid quality start in his first outing, allowing one run through six innings, but he exited tonight’s game after recording just one out when he injured his oblique while delivering a pitch. There’s no timeline on his return, but it’s common for players to spend around a month on the disabled list for Grade 1 strains and considerably longer for Grade 2 strains.

With Miley heading to the DL and likely to miss several starts, the Brewers may once again turn to southpaw Brent Suter. The 28-year-old lefty just moved to the ’pen to accommodate Miley, but he showed that he’s still plenty stretched out by coming in and posting 4 2/3 innings of quality relief in Miley’s place tonight. Zach Davies is also on the DL with some mild inflammation in his right shoulder, so the Brewers will need to fill two spots for the time being, although Davies’ absence is expected to be extremely minimal. Prospect Brandon Woodruff is on-hand in Triple-A and could be viewed as an option for the Brewers to step into the starting mix alongside Suter.

[Related: Milwaukee Brewers depth chart]

Knebel landed on the disabled list on April 6 after collapsing on the mound while delivering a pitch. He had to be helped off the field and looked to be in excruciating pain, though the diagnosis ultimately proved to be more favorable than expected upon seeing the initial injury. The Brewers initially believed that Knebel would miss “at least” six weeks, but he’ll return to the club in a bit under five weeks after suffering his injury.

If Franklin requires a DL trip, the Brewers could give Eric Sogard another look, though he consented to an optional assignment today in an effort to get his swing sorted out in the minors. Tyler Saladino would be another option who is already on the 40-man roster and has plenty of middle infield experience in the Majors. And Jonathan Villar, of course, is still with the big league club as well, though he’s had a lackluster season at the plate so far in 2018.

It’s been an eventful day on the injury front in Milwaukee. The Brewers learned earlier today that Mauricio Dubon, one of their top infield prospects who’d been in the mix for a call to the Majors, will miss the remainder of the year following a torn ACL. And the news is somehow even more grim for veteran catcher and beloved clubhouse leader Stephen Vogt, who suffered damage to his anterior capsule, rotator cuff and labrum in his throwing shoulder and is now faced with the possibility of career-threatening surgery.

Injury Notes: Buxton, Sano, Ervin, Knebel, Williamson

By | at

Byron Buxton has a hairline fracture in his left toe, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports on Twitter. According to Hayes, the Twins hopes to have a better idea on his return timeline by the end of the homestand. As Hayes wrote previously, the team has missed Buxton while he’s been sidelined; seven of the club’s eight wins have come with the speedster patrolling center field. It’s worth noting, though, that while Buxton has played typically great defense in the outfield grass, he’s scuffled to a .195/.233/.244 batting line at the plate.

More injury notes from around the league…

  • Speaking of the Twins, Miguel Sano will sit out today’s game due to hamstring tightness (h/t Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). Sano, who owns a .450 slugging percentage on the season with five homers and a 40% K rate, barely ran out a ground ball in his last at-bat during yesterday’s game. It’s unclear how long he’ll need to rest. Meanwhile, there’s a positive sign for the Twins: Ervin Santana is making progress and has already practiced throwing his change-up, according to Hayes. He’s reportedly close to throwing off a mound. The club will be anxiously awaiting his return, as their starters as a group sit in the bottom half of MLB in ERA and FIP and dead last in innings pitched.
  • Brewers closer Corey Knebel is very excited about his progress with his hamstring strain, Tom Haudricort of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. He’ll reportedly throw one more bullpen session before heading out on a rehab assignment. It seems likely that Knebel will be able to return by mid-May. Josh Hader, Matt Albers and Jacob Barnes have closed out games in his absence, collecting six saves; that group has combined for a sub-1.25 ERA on the season, so Knebel’s return will make for a truly formidable late-inning crew.
  • It looks as though Giants outfielder Mac Williamson will avoid the concussion DL, as manager Bruce Bochy expects him to start tomorrow (h/t Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic). There was a fear that Williamson might have suffered a concussion after a collision with the outfield wall on Tuesday, but the 27-year-old appears to have dodged any serious injury. Williamson already has three homers for San Francisco in just 19 plate appearances.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top