Knebel will miss four to six weeks
Losing your all-star closer for at least a month is never good news for a team.
Nevertheless, the Milwaukee Brewers were counting themselves as fortunate Friday when an MRI revealed Corey Knebel’s left-hamstring strain is not going to end his season or even require surgery.
Instead, Knebel was placed on the 10-day disabled list and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Right-hander Adrian Houser was recalled from Class AA Biloxi to take his spot on the 25-man roster.
“I think that’s why we wait to get the MRI (results),” manager Craig Counsell said. “For all of us, it was very serious and going out to see him, you’re really concerned and worried it was something that was going to keep him out for a big chunk of the season or a surgery or something like that.
“It’s a hamstring strain. He’s certainly going to miss a month, for sure, then we’ll just kind of see how it progresses. We feel like we’re fortunate here in talking about it. We know we’re going to have this guy pitching for us again for a good chunk of the season.”
Indeed, the visual of Knebel crumpling to the ground after throwing a pitch in the ninth inning of an 8-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Miller Park was a jarring one. He had to be helped off the field and Counsell confirmed afterward Knebel would be going on the DL before he’d even had an MRI, underscoring the seriousness of the injury.
Knebel said Friday he’d never had
any hamstring issues and termed the mishap a “freak accident.” But he also knows the news could have been much worse.
“It hurt like hell,” Knebel said. “I didn’t really know what it was. Didn’t really expect it, a hammy issue on a throw. It kind of caught me off guard. I couldn’t put any pressure on it, couldn’t touch it at all yesterday. It really worried me yesterday. Then today I woke up, it felt a lot better. I was actually able to walk on it and then got some great news after the MRI.
“Right from the start I kind of thought it was pretty serious, the way it felt. Then once I got home I started to kind of realize it doesn’t feel as bad. I knew if it was torn off the bone I wouldn’t be able to do anything, so it definitely was a little bit of a relief.”
There was much second-guessing about utilizing Knebel in the final inning of a blowout loss.
But Knebel, who hadn’t pitched in the previous five games, had no issue with it and actually was told by Counsell before the game that he’d be pitching.
“It happened; move past it,” he said. “But every manager you talk to is going to say the same thing. Everybody’s got to get work in, whether it’s 4-5 days or whatever. You’ve got to stay fresh, stay on the mound. So, no matter what the situation was, I needed to get some work in and get ready to go. “That’s exactly what I was doing.” Replacing an all-star who saved a career-best 39 games in 2017 won’t be easy for Counsell. But he does have options.
There are fireballers such as Josh Hader and Jacob Barnes, salty veterans such as Matt Albers and Dan Jennings and even former closer Jeremy Jeffress, who saved 27 games for the Brewers in 2016.
“We’ve got a bunch of guys pitching well down there,” said Counsell. “But I think right now we’ll just play the games and see how it kind of works out. Who we’re playing and lineups may have a little bit to do with that.
“I think as we get further along in this somebody will probably claim most of the opportunities. But I don’t know who that will be right now.”
Said Jeffress: “I just want the baseball. I don’t care when it is. It can be the fourth, fifth, sixth or ninth, I don’t care. All of us in the bullpen, we just want the baseball. We don’t care who does it.”
Houser, 25, was one of four players acquired from the Houston Astros on July 30, 2015, in exchange for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers. He became the second in the group to reach the majors with the Brewers, making a pair of one-inning appearances late in the season.
He made 13 starts in 2016 for Biloxi before injuring his elbow and undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned toward the end of last season, splitting nine appearances between the rookie Arizona Summer League Brewers and Class A Wisconsin, then went 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in four starts in the Arizona Fall League.
Houser had some more bad luck in the spring, when he was sidelined by an appendectomy for several weeks. He was lined up to pitch in a tandem at Biloxi with 2014 first-round pick Kodi Medeiros, with his season debut for the Shuckers originally scheduled for Saturday.
“It’s definitely been a long journey,” Houser said. “A lot of time put in to get here. I’m very excited to be back.”
His role with the Brewers is likely to be fluid for the time being, with others likely to be shuttled from the minor leagues when a fresh arm is needed.
“We’ll maybe be a little bit more flexible with that spot,” Counsell said. “When you’re called on, you do your job. I think he’s aware of that. He’s here to do a job. He’s here to get people out.