Corey Knebel went from dominant closer to a key piece in the bridge to super dominant closer, Josh Hader, in less than a year.
Knebel was the historically good Brewers closer before being a historically good closer was cool. He struggled out of the gate in 2018, lost the closer’s role to Hader, and emerged as a vital part of the bridge to the ninth inning. He was expected to play a similar role in 2019, but he felt a twinge in his elbow and had to spend a year on the shelf after undergoing Tommy John surgery.