The Milwaukee Brewers got bad news about reliever Corey Knebel on Friday, sparking speculation that the team may more aggressively pursue free agent reliever Craig Kimbrel.
Knebel will undergo Tommy John surgery, leaving a hole in the back of the Milwaukee bullpen. General manager David Stearns wouldn’t rule out a pursuit of Kimbrel in response, but wouldn’t commit to it, either.
#Brewers GM David Stearns, when asked about Kimbrel: "I mean, I’m not going to talk about any specific player. Clearly, if there are players out there who are going to make us better, we’re going to investigate it. But I’m not going to go into any more than that.”
— Tom (@Haudricourt) March 29, 2019
It had been reported that the two sides were in “serious” talks, but as nothing has gotten done, it seems likely that there is some distance between Kimbrel’s demands and what Milwaukee is willing to give. We’ll see if the Brewers compromise with the injury becoming a factor.
