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Milwaukee Brewers right-handed relief pitcher Corey Knebel decided Friday that he will to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.
He is scheduled to have the surgery on Wednesday in Los Angeles, and will miss the 2019 season and some of 2020 while recovering from the procedure.
Knebel, 27, has pitched through the injury since 2014 but was shut down in mid-March during spring training as he sought multiple opinions on his right elbow.
During the last week of spring training, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said there was “reason for concern” regarding Knebel’s elbow.
“We’re talking about a pre-existing injury that he had pitched with for four years,” general manager David Stearns said in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week before the decision was made. “It was always possible at some time that it would become problematic, and we’ve gotten to that point. Did the deep run last year contribute to that? I don’t think anyone knows. I don’t think the doctors know.”
Knebel was 4-3 with 16 saves, 88 strikeouts and a 3.58 ERA in 55 1/3 innings last season as part of a dominant bullpen that helped the Brewers reach the National League Championship Series. He gave up two hits and one run in 10 postseason innings.
Knebel was an All-Star in 2017, when posted a 1.78 ERA and struck out 126 in 76 innings.
Knebel and reliever Jeremy Jeffress (shoulder) opened the season on the injured list for Milwaukee, and Josh Hader earned the save in the season-opening win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.
–Field Level Media