Milwaukee Brewers: Why the Crew Traded Away Corey Knebel

In a bit of a surprise, the Milwaukee Brewers traded Corey Knebel to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Here are a few reasons why they decided to make that move.

It wasn’t that long ago that former Milwaukee Brewers’ relief pitcher Corey Knebel was an All-Star behind a 1.78 ERA and 14.9 strikeouts per nine innings during the 2017 season. The following year he was electric in the postseason allowing only one run while striking out 14 over 10 innings of work as the Brewers made it all the way to Game 7 of the NLCS.

But oh, how quickly things can change in the game of baseball. With the non-tender deadline this past Wednesday, one of the bigger surprises was that at the very last minute, Knebel was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. And like anything, there is always a myriad of reasons why, some of which includes Knebel’s projected cost, his recent play, the Milwaukee Brewers’ bullpen depth, along with what I’m guessing was an unexpected opportunity that presented itself.

So let’s begin by taking a look at Knebel’s 2020 season. As I’m sure everyone remembers, he missed all of 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, so that coupled with a short and unusual 2020 campaign produced some less than ideal numbers.

In 13.1 innings, Knebel posted a 6.08 ERA, which isn’t’ too far off from what his FIP of 6.64 was, and he struck out only 10.1 batters per nine innings. Across the board, Knebel’s numbers were down, he struck out fewer batters, his walk rate was up, he was barreled up more often, and his groundball rate was down significantly as he struggled to regain his pre-Tommy John form and get his velocity back.

But once again, take those numbers as you will, given the circumstances. As reported by Fansided’s own, Robert Murray, one Brewers’ executive says that Knebel can be “really productive again,” and that “his stuff was there in flashes.”

While that may be true, keep in mind that this is a Milwaukee Brewers team that already operates on the frugal side of things, and when you add in the fact that revenues were down in 2020 due to no fans in the stands, Knebel’s projected arbitration salary of $5.125 million for 2021 is pretty steep considering the unknowns of what his future holds.

This rings even more true when you consider the depth of the Brewers’ bullpen. Even if Knebel is able to regain some of his old form, he still likely the third-best pitcher in that Milwaukee bullpen behind Josh Hader and Devin Williams. Not to mention that the Brewers also have Brent Suter, Eric Yardley, Justin Topa, Freddy Peralta, and others–thus making Knebel expendable.

With the non-tender deadline approaching, a deal between Knebel and the Brewers just wasn’t going to happen, and as Murray reports, one National League executive said his team was “salivating” at the idea of Knebel hitting free agency. However, five minutes before the deadline, a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers appeared out of nowhere, and in return, the Brewers will receive a player to be named later or cash.

On the surface, it can be easy to wonder how in the heck David Stearns can give up Knebel for so little. But when you consider that for the reasons mentioned above — along with others — that the two parties couldn’t come to an agreement, without this trade taking place, the Brewers were going to lose Knebel for nothing. And while at this moment the return may not seem like much, it is still better than allowing him to hit free agency with nothing to show for it.

For a few seasons, Knebel was a key contributor to this Milwaukee Brewers team, so of course, it hurts to see him go–especially to the Dodgers, who the National League will run through once again in 2021. Now having said that, when you take into consideration the reasons why the Brewers weren’t willing to pay Knebel his projected $5.125 million salary and that Stearns was able to get at least something in return for him, this is a move that does make more sense.