Corey Knebel is among the group of Los Angeles Dodgers free agents and the reliever likely showed enough this past season to cash in on a lucrative contract.
The 30-year-old was one of the best closers in baseball during the 2017 season, but after that was limited by injuries. The Dodgers took a chance on Knebel after he was non-tendered by the Milwaukee Brewers and wound up with mixed results.
Knebel was again limited by injury — a right lat strain — as he pitched just 25.2 innings. However, he was effective when on the mound, posting a 2.45 ERA and 2.90 FIP while striking out 10.52 batters per nine innings and walking 3.16 per nine.
With his history of being a great reliever and a quality 2021 season, Knebel turned that into a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan:
Right-handed reliever Corey Knebel is in agreement on a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, a source familiar with the deal tells ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 1, 2021
The Phillies signing Knebel makes sense as they have had closer problems for quite some time now. Knebel could help solve that in a cost-effective way. He could also just fill in a setup role as he did in L.A. and just make the Phillies’ bullpen that much better.
It would have made some sense for Knebel to return to the Dodgers, but that scenario now seems less likely as they signed Daniel Hudson to a one-year deal.
The Phillies have also been connected to Kenley Jansen, but the market for him will likely be larger and the Dodgers have expressed interest in re-signing their all-time saves leader.
Taylor drawing interest from Phillies
The Dodgers have acquired a lot of Phillies over the past few seasons, including Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino, but now it appears the Phillies would like to reverse that trend.
Philadelphia is also said to be among the teams who are interested in Chris Taylor — joining the Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants.
Taylor has said he would like to re-sign in L.A., but the Dodgers are facing plenty of competition to retain the utility man.
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