Corey Andrew Knebel (born November 26, 1991) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

who is a free agent. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Early life

Knebel was born in

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...

to parents Jeffrey and Melissa Knebel and grew up in

Bastrop County, Texas Bastrop County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in Central Texas and its county seat is Bastrop. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,216. Bastrop County is included in the Austin–Round Rock, Texas, metropolit ...

. He attended Bastrop High School where he was a three-year letter winner and a former district MVP in baseball. He was also a member of the school's basketball team. He is a graduate of Georgetown High School, where he moved for his senior season.

College career

Knebel enrolled at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in 2011, and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Texas Longhorns baseball The Texas Longhorns baseball team represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's baseball competition. The Longhorns currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. The University of Texas began varsity interc ...

team. He became the Longhorn's closer as a freshman and tied J. Brent Cox and Charlie Thames' school records for saves in a single season with 19. He was named the

NCBWA The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) is an association of baseball writers, broadcasters, and publicists in the United States. It was founded in 1962. The NCBWA compiles a preseason ranking of the top 35 teams in the natio ...

Stopper of the Year and the Freshman of the Year by the NBCWA and '' Collegiate Baseball Magazine''. Knebel earned First Team All-American and first-team All-

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

honors. Knebel was again the Longhorn closer in 2012, finishing the year with nine saves and a 2.08

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

. Though unable to match the accolades of his freshman season, he again earned first-team All-Big 12 honors. Knebel was suspended from the Longhorns twice in 2013, once for violating team rules and once for providing a urine sample to help a teammate beat a drug test.

Professional career

Detroit Tigers

Knebel was drafted by the

as the 39th pick in the

2013 Major League Baseball Draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. This supplemental pick was the first traded draft slot in Major League history. The pick was included in a 2012 trade between the Tigers and the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

, which included

Aníbal Sánchez Aníbal Alejandro Sánchez Jr. (; born February 27, 1984) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2006 with the Florida Marlins and has also played for the Detroit ...

, Omar Infante, and

Jacob Turner Jacob Edward Turner (born May 21, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and Washington Nationals. He also played in th ...

. Knebel played for the Class-A

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpar ...

, the Double-A

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving as the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tige ...

and the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

before being called up by the Tigers. He made his major league debut on May 24, 2014, against the Texas Rangers.

Texas Rangers

On July 23, 2014, the Tigers traded Knebel and

Jake Thompson Jacob Keith Thompson (born January 31, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and for the Lotte Gian ...

to the Texas Rangers, in exchange for reliever

Joakim Soria Joakim Agustín Soria Ramos (born May 18, 1984) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Milwa ...

. After the trade, Knebel was assigned to play for the Rangers' Triple-A team, the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

. Knebel sprained the

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL), may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

of the elbow in his throwing arm in August, ending his season.

Milwaukee Brewers

On January 19, 2015, the Rangers traded Knebel, Luis Sardiñas, and Marcos Diplan to the

for Yovani Gallardo. In May 2017, Knebel became the permanent closer for the Brewers, taking the job from a struggling

Neftalí Feliz Neftalí Feliz Antonio (; born May 2, 1988) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh ...

. On June 22, Knebel set the MLB record for most consecutive appearances with at least one strikeout by a relief pitcher at 38. The record was previously set in 2014 by

Aroldis Chapman Albertín Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz (; born February 28, 1988) is a Cuban-born American professional baseball relief pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and C ...

with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. On July 19, Knebel's streak ended at 45 games after failing to record a strikeout in a blown save against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Knebel injured his left hamstring while pitching on April 5, 2018, against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

and was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. He was activated on May 9. However, Knebel struggled among his return to the Brewers, and he was demoted to the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockies ...

after compiling a 2–3 record with a 5.08 ERA in 41 appearances. Shortly after 2019 opening day, Knebel was dealing with soreness in his right elbow. It was eventually revealed that his right elbow had a torn UCL, which needed Tommy John surgery, putting Knebel away for the rest of 2019. On December 2, Knebel was designated for assignment by the Brewers. In the shortened 2020 season, Knebel returned and recorded a 6.08 ERA in innings over 15 games.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 2, 2020, the Brewers traded Knebel to the

in exchange for Leo Crawford. On May 2, 2021, Knebel was placed on the 60-day injured list with a right lat strain, an injury that kept him sidelined until August 10. As a result of the injury he only appeared in 27 games for the Dodgers in 2021, including four appearances as an opener, and finished with a 4–0 record, 2.45 ERA, three saves and 30 strikeouts. In the postseason, he appeared in seven games (including two as an opener), pitching 5 innings and allowing two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out 11.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 1, 2021, Knebel officially signed a 1-year contract with the

Personal life

Knebel married longtime girlfriend Danielle Matula on December 5, 2015, in

Victoria, Texas Victoria is a small city in South Texas and county seat of Victoria County, Texas. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 as of the 2000 censu ...

. The couple have two children and reside in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knebel, Corey 1991 births All-American college baseball players Baseball players from Texas Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Detroit Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Living people Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Mesa Solar Sox players Milwaukee Brewers players National League All-Stars Oklahoma City Dodgers players Philadelphia Phillies players Sportspeople from Denton, Texas Round Rock Express players Texas Longhorns baseball players Toledo Mud Hens players West Michigan Whitecaps players