As a lockout looms effective 11:59 p.m. tonight, the Phillies have been otherwise quiet. Teams who do not agree to deals ahead of the lockout will have to wait for a new collective bargaining agreement to be signed before pursuing additional players. The Phillies have at least one deal done.
Jeff Passan of ESPN was first to report that the Phillies are in agreement with reliever Corey Knebel:
Right-handed reliever Corey Knebel is in agreement on a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, a source familiar with the deal tells ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 1, 2021
The Phillies officially announced the deal.
Earlier in the day, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that the Phillies and Kebel were in advanced talks. Knebel would help the Phillies in the back-end of the bullpen. The Phillies have already lost Hector Neris, who signed a two-year deal with the Houston Astros.
It is unclear at this time if the Phillies view Knebel as a closer or as a set-up reliever.
The Phillies have been rumored to be in the market for a premier closer, something that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has said himself. The Phillies had been linked to Raisel Iglesias, who re-signed with the Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox reliever Craig Kimbrel, and Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader.
Still relatively early in the offseason, the Phillies likely will have to wait out the lockout before making more moves.
