Brewers targeting May for Knebel's return

SAN DIEGO -- The Brewers are preparing for the calendar to be "into May" before All-Star closer Corey Knebel returns from Tommy John surgery, manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday in the most detailed projection to date of Knebel's timeline.

Knebel, who signed a one-year contract Tuesday to avoid arbitration, had surgery April 3 to repair the torn ligament in his right elbow. An early May return would put his rehab at about 13 months, which is the same amount of time left-hander Brent Suter was sidelined before returning to the Major Leagues in September.

"We don't have a final answer, but probably our best guess [for Knebel] is not ready for Opening Day, is what I would say," Counsell said. "And I think that's the way to do it so that you don't put that on the player coming into Spring Training, right? My guess is probably we get into May before we count on Corey Knebel."

"I think that's a fair assessment," Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns said. "If we're surprised, we're surprised. I think we'll get a better sense once we get to Spring Training and really ramp up and see how far behind the rest of the group he may be."

Knebel was a force for the Brewers in 2017, when he made the National League All-Star team, and at the end of 2018, when he rebounded from a difficult stretch in August to pitch scoreless ball in 24 of his final 25 games through the postseason. The Brewers were counting on a return of what Counsell dubbed the "Electric Dudes" bullpen of Knebel, Jeremy Jeffress and Josh Hader in 2019, but Jeffress and Knebel both opened the year on the injured list.

"I think because we lost [Knebel] so early last year and lost him for the entirety of the season, we kind of forget how much we were counting on him going into last year," Stearns said. "He was such an important part of the 2018 team, especially down the stretch and into the playoffs. We were able to still have a successful year without him, but to be able to get a healthy Corey Knebel back at a high level would be an enormous boost for our team."