Phillies place reliever Corey Knebel on 15-day injured list

CINCINNATI — Corey Knebel will be out for at least two weeks with an injury that sidelined him for three months last year.

Knebel, who began the season as the Phillies’ closer and remains a key piece of the bullpen, went on the 15-day injured list Monday, the team announced, after an MRI exam in Philadelphia confirmed a strained right latissimus muscle in his back.

Right-hander Sam Coonrod was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and recalled to join the team in Cincinnati. Coonrod has been out since spring training with a strained right shoulder.

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Knebel missed three months in the middle of last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers because of a strained lat muscle. Interim manager Rob Thomson said Knebel was unable to lift his arm after throwing 15 pitches Sunday in New York.

“Don’t know if it’s the same thing exactly,” said interim manager Rob Thomson, who added that the Phillies’ trainers were still awaiting the full report from the diagnostic tests. “We’ll know better once we get the MRI [results].”

The Phillies signed Knebel to a one-year, $10 million contract. In 46 appearances, he has a 3.43 ERA, with 41 strikeouts and 28 walks in 44⅔ innings. Thomson took him out of the closer role after a rough stretch in May and early June. But Knebel hasn’t allowed a run in 17 of his last 18 outings.

The Phillies removed Knebel from Sunday’s game in New York in the seventh inning. He walked two of the three batters he faced and threw only five of 15 pitches for strikes.

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Knebel has been part of a late-inning bullpen mix that features Seranthony Domínguez, Brad Hand, Connor Brogdon, and trade-deadline addition David Robertson.

It’s unclear how Coonrod will be used, especially at the outset. The hard-throwing 29-year-old had a 4.04 ERA in 42 appearances for the Phillies last year. The Phillies elected to call up Coonrod over right-hander Mark Appel. In five appearances at triple-A Lehigh Valley, Coonrod had a 1.69 ERA in 5⅓ innings.

“He’s been great,” Thomson said. “Same power arm. He’s actually throwing more strikes. He’s checked all the boxes. He’s gone back-to-back, he’s gone more than one inning in an outing. He’s been throwing the ball well.”

To free a 40-man roster spot for Coonrod, the Phillies designated triple-A lefty Andrew Vasquez for assignment.

In a pregame ceremony, Nick Castellanos received the Reds’ most valuable player award for last season. He batted .309/.362/.576 with 34 homers and 100 RBIs for Cincinnati in 2021 before signing a five-year, $100 million contract with the Phillies.

Castellanos noted that the Reds have traded at least 10 of his former teammates from 2020-21 in what he termed a “complete teardown” of those teams. The Reds went 31-29 and made the playoffs in the shortened 2020 season, then finished 83-79 last year.

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“I think there was a lot of potential there, a lot of talented young kids,” Castellanos said. “Learning how to be good in the big leagues is one thing, but then learning how to play together and learning how to win is completely another thing. That takes time. Unfortunately, for certain organizations that time isn’t as long as sometimes it needs to be.”

Kyle Schwarber (strained right calf) ran before the game but wasn’t ready to return to the lineup. He remained available off the bench. Thomson said Schwarber could possibly be used as a designated hitter Tuesday or Wednesday. ... Left-hander Bailey Falter joined the Phillies and threw 57 pitches in a four-inning simulated game. He will start one game of the day-night doubleheader Saturday at home against the New York Mets. ... Kyle Gibson (7-5, 4.29 ERA) will start Tuesday night against Reds right-hander T.J. Zeuch (0-1, 13.50).