Dodgers: Corey Knebel Excited to Join a Stacked LA Team
The Dodgers might have found their replacement for Blake Treinen in the bullpen for 2021. When they heard that Corey Knebel might become available at the non-tender deadline, they were all over the move. They scooped him up from Milwaukee right before the deadline in exchange for cash or a player to be named.
Almost immediately after the trade was announced, MLB Network got Knebel on the phone to talk about the trade. For Knebel, it doesn’t get much better for him than going to the defending World Series Champion Dodgers.
You can’t be more excited than to be with a World Series team…If there was one thing you want, its to go to a team that won the World Series. They’re not losing anybody, this team is stacked and I can’t be more excited.
Dodgers Get Corey Knebel! Can He Regain Elite Status With LA?
As it turns out, the trade really did come down to the wire for the Dodgers and Knebel. They could have waited for him to be non-tendered, but that would have opened him up to the other 28 teams to sign him away. Knebel went on to describe the final minutes before the trade was official.
I got a text from my agent saying the Dodgers might be interested and then next thing I know I’m getting a call from [David] Stearns. It kind of all happened within 5 minutes, it was great. I had a great time with Milwaukee, a lot of years there, and now I’m ready to move on to the next chapter.
If Knebel can return to his All-Star form, the Dodgers are going to be in a really good spot moving forward. At his best, he can strike out guys at a ridiculously high rate without allowing very many home runs at all. Between 2017 and 2018, Knebel struck out 214 batters and allowed just 13 home runs in 133 appearances.
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Two deals so far signing Alexander to a 1 year guaranteed contract and the deal for Knebel. Both low risk high reward especially if Knebel can get back to 2017 form. TJ surgery often takes more than a year to recover. Dodgers have best PT and coaching staff in MLB. This could be a great signing. The improved bullpen was a major contributor to the Dodgers winning in 2020.
Typical, but sneaky good, deal by Friedman. Let’s hope he returns to his former self. If so, the salary cap opens up a bit in 2022 and beyond if they want to re-sign/extend him. Four years younger than Jansen.
I’m very “meh” on Alexander…
That’ a Boy Andrew, saving the money to resign Turner and purchase or trade for a big Righthanded BAT!
Knebel is going to make 2021even more interesting. I like pulling for guys who are making comebacks. I still think we could use a guy like Hader, Hand, or Hendriks, as well. Graterol should continue to develop into a regular at the end of games, but isn’t quite there yet. I’m not thinking of Jansen as any more than a middle releiver at this point.
I feel even better about Knebel going into 2021 than I felt about Treinen going into 2020. And at half the money. I like this a lot.