MLB: The Phillies has a former All Star closer on the radar, will he be their new fire extinguisher?

The Philadelphia Phillies have a “serious interest” in the veteran free agent reliever, Corey Knebel, the club is “progressing” in discussions with the right-hander and his representatives at Excel Sports Management.

The Dodgers acquired the former Brewers All-Star closer last offseason. Knebel missed a good chunk of the year due to strain on the right side, but he was very effective when he was healthy enough to pitch:

He pitched 25 2/3 innings in 27 appearances, working for a 2.45 ERA with a strong strikeout percentage of 29.7% and an average walk rate of 8.9%. Knebel also induced rolling at a solid 45.9%.

It was a show of strong recovery for the 30-year-old, who was limited to just 13 1/3 ineffective innings between 2019-20 due to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.

Perhaps most encouragingly, his average fastball speed rebounded to 96.3 MPH after dropping to 94.3 MPH during his immediate comeback from TJS (Tommy John) in 2020. It is no coincidence that his swing strike rate rebounded from 7.2. % to a 12.7% clip that is just a touch below where Knebel worked during his peak seasons.

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If the Phillies reached a deal with Knebel, he would be a key addition to a bullpen that stands out as one of the weakest areas on the roster. A race at Kyle Schwarber would be a lot more expensive than a Knebel chase, of course. A two-year, $ 18MM deal is forecast for Knebel.

Rafael Martinez

I am fond of the King of Sports, especially the Boston Red Sox in MLB and in general all of Mexican baseball. This profession has given me the opportunity to cover major events such as the Caribbean Series, LMB All Star, LMP (uninterrupted since 2009), signings of important players. I had the chance to attend the 2013 World Classic in Arizona, USA, albeit as a fan. Apart from this beautiful sport, I love basketball, where I have also narrated games and even an NBA friendly 10 years ago, but I carry baseball in my veins. BA in Communication Sciences from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS) , from which I graduated in 2011. I was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa and started in the world of sports journalism in 2004 in the newspaper El Sol de Mazatlán, where I was a baseball columnist and a reporter at the same time. In January 2009 I came to El Debate as a journalist reporter and it was almost six years (in the first stage), until in November 2014 I emigrated to the radio providing my services at Línea Directa-Grupo RSN. My cycle there ended in July 2019 and after a few days, El Debate gave me another opportunity to work and opened the doors for me again. That is how I came to Al Bat, where I have been since 2019 as a web journalist.

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