Knebel 'feeling good' about progress with shoulder
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Corey Knebel doesn¡¯t look destined for the 2024 White Sox Opening Day roster, as the right-handed reliever works his way back from right shoulder surgery sidelining him for the entire 2023 campaign.
Knebel, 32, last pitched for the Phillies on Aug. 14, 2022, but was shut down with a right shoulder capsule tear. He agreed to a Minor League contract with the White Sox with a non-roster invite to Spring Training.
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¡°Yeah, I mean, the surgery, it¡¯s whatever. I guess there¡¯s timetables on it. You can never really go off of it,¡± Knebel said. ¡°Just take it day by day and don¡¯t try to do too much [or] overdo it. Obviously, sometimes it will work out. Sometimes, it won¡¯t. I¡¯m just trying not to get ahead of myself.
¡°Everything has been going well. Obviously, I haven¡¯t thrown any live BPs, no games yet. It¡¯s just bullpens. Trying not to have any kind of setbacks. Trying to get right and probably not going to be for Opening Day. But go from there.¡±
In ¡®17, Knebel saved 39 games for the Brewers with a 1.78 ERA and 126 strikeouts in 76 innings. He had 12 saves in 46 games for the Phillies before suffering the setback.
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White Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz spoke of Knebel being a little behind during a media session on Feb. 22, and Knebel confirmed Monday he had a little bit of a setback a couple of weeks ago which was nothing big. Adding Knebel¡¯s experience and past success into the late-inning mix could be an important piece for the White Sox, but neither the team nor the hurler want to rush the matter.
¡°I mean, the shoulder feels great. That¡¯s a positive,¡± Knebel said. ¡°Take those. Last week, shoulder didn¡¯t feel great. So I¡¯m trying to do whatever I can, and make sure nothing else happens. I¡¯m feeling good right now, so we¡¯ll just keep going.
¡°It¡¯s Spring Training and they understand it, too. I¡¯m not trying to be on the shelf for a whole year again. If I¡¯m on the shelf for two weeks, three weeks, so be it.¡±
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Soroka's debut
Michael Soroka allowed a solo home run in two innings of work during a 5-2 victory over the Diamondbacks on Monday at Camelback Ranch. Soroka struck out two and walked one in his first ever Cactus League start, which also happened to be his first White Sox start.
¡°Feels great. They have a lot of confidence in me and that¡¯s rubbing off in the confidence I have in myself,¡± Soroka said. ¡°It¡¯s very easy when you come up and you have that young innocence, no reason not to have confidence. For me, it was finding confidence in being athletic again.
¡°Last year was very important for getting innings under my belt, learning what it was like to really let it fly. There¡¯s a very small difference between trying to let it go as hard as you can and actually just doing it. It¡¯s very tough to explain, but we all feel it. When you¡¯re in the zone, the ball is flying out of your hand, you're flowing through it. Looks easy. Yeah, just getting back to that point.¡±
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Soroka, 26, missed the 2021 and '22 seasons after suffering a pair of right Achilles tears, and was shut down in ¡®23 with right forearm inflammation after making seven appearances (six starts) for the Braves.
¡°Good to feel a little bit of adrenaline at least and some live competition,¡± Soroka said. ¡°There were some really good things to take from today. And then there were some things we¡¯ve got to work on. It¡¯s a good thing, a good way to move forward. Looking forward to getting out there again.¡±
Third to first
? Chris Flexen, who is in the rotation mix, pitched two scoreless innings behind Soroka on Monday with the team having an off-day Tuesday. He struck out one.
¡°First one out is hard to have super high expectations,¡± Flexen said. ¡°I thought I struggled with getting ahead and didn¡¯t do a good job of that, but surprisingly was so efficient. Quick two innings. Definitely got to fine tune some stuff.¡±
? John Brebbia was scheduled to throw a side session early this week. The veteran right-hander has been sidelined by a right calf strain,
? Left-handed pitcher Jake Eder is scheduled to pitch in a B game Thursday at the Reds. The No. 5 White Sox prospect per MLB Pipeline has been bothered by right shoulder soreness.