Dodgers Team News

Dodgers Acquire RHP Corey Knebel from Milwaukee

The Dodgers are finally getting the ball rolling on getting their roster filled out for the 2021 season. As expected, Andrew Friedman and the rest of the front office waited until the non-tender deadline to make their first notable acquisition of the offseason. 

The Dodgers made a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for RHP Corey Knebel. In exchange for Knebel, Los Angeles will eventually be sending wither cash considerations to Milwaukee or a player to be named later. 



Knebel was originally reported to be one of the players that were non-tendered by the Brewers earlier today. He was also one of many relievers non-tendered by teams around baseball as organizations look for ways to cut costs after a pandemic year. The Dodgers took full advantage of that and were able to get Knebel for essentially nothing. 

Knebel was an All-Star as recently as 2017 when he was a lights out reliever for the Brewers. He struck out close to 15 batters per 9 innings that year and pitched to a 1.78 ERA and 2.53 FIP over 76 appearances for Milwaukee. The Dodgers adding his arm to their bullpen could potentially bu huge. 

Knebel is in his final year of being eligible for arbitration. Predicted to make around $5 million in his final year before free agency, he represents a low-risk, high-reward situation for the Dodgers. Knebel missed the entire 2019 season after tearing his UCL and requiring Tommy John surgery. 

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13 Comments

  1. Interesting choice Knebel had TJ surgery and missed all of 2019. His return in 2020 was less than spectacular with a an ERA over 6.00. I’m not sure about his one. But he is cheap. I guess someone is seeing a possibility of return to prior form?

  2. Another low risk possible high gain move by Friedman. It’s takes over a year to truly recover from TJ & the Dodgers have one of the finest PT & coaching staffs in MLB. This could be a real difference maker as Knebel regains his form. The man was close to un-hittable before his injury.

  3. Dodgers getting Knebel perhaps a precursor to bigger deal for Hader. That would be cool.

      1. Lets hope Baez is somewhere else in 2021, AZUL!!!! His inconsistency sent shivers up my spine. Hope all is well, and that you and PD Jr. are staying safe. Go Blue!!!

  4. This harkens back a few years to when every reliever the Dodgers went after were either (a) injured or (b) ready to retire. Remember? We used to all joke that Friedman only liked pitchers who were retired and injured. This checks that box.

    1. Friedman finds diamonds in the rough too. Like Muncy. The more I think about the Knebel aquisition, the more I like it. People were worried about the health of Graterol and Treinen last year. But they both came through. I’m going to trust Friedman on this one.

  5. A Treinen type deal looking to capture past magic. Treinen turned out to be mediocre at best, both in the regular and post season, so we give this dude a shot, at half the price.

  6. Kid is only 29…just turned one week ago. This could be a good acquisition. As a previous poster stated, it takes at least a complete year to recovery from TJ surgery.

  7. I refuse to decide on this deal until spring training and opening day. Remember Jimmy Nelson….we never saw him pitch in 2020 regular season and he’s gone!

  8. Agree, let’s see what happens in spring training. More moves to come low risk maybe high reward. Baez had his run gave up two many runs in big situations especially the long ball. Could be an improvement.

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