The Dodgers have made a living by signing reliever cast-offs to bargain deals, fixing them, and then letting them walk in free agency for a healthy pay day. Corey Knebel is among the more recent examples of the Dodgers successful reliever reclamation projects. After putting up a 2.45 ERA in 2021 with LA (27 appearances), the Phillies whisked him away in free agency on a one-year, $10M deal. Knebel has been effective this year (3.43 ERA), but on Sunday morning, news broke that the righty is done for the season.
Knebel had been a late-inning linchpin for the Phillies before going down with the injury. 37 of his 46 appearances came in the eighth or ninth innings and the 30-year-old recorded 12 saves. Philadelphia placed him on the 60-day injured on Sunday morning.
The loss of Knebel, in addition to current closer Seranthony Domínguez, is a huge blow for a Phillies team that entering play on Sunday, own the second NL Wild Card spot (66-54) and barring a meltdown, should remain in the playoff picture.
It’s an unfortunate turn of events for the former Dodgers reliever, especially when considering Knebel missed all of May, June, and July last season due to a shoulder issue. The one-time All-Star is only 30-years-old, but the future of his MLB career is cloudy to say the least.
However, this is a Dodgers team that took a flyer on Pedro Baez (who’s since been released) this year, so don’t rule out a LA return for Knebel down the road.
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