MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brewers reliever Corey Knebel says he will have

Tommy John surgery and miss the season Dallas Keuchel Jersey , a major setback for the NL Central champions.Knebel revealed his decision Friday before Milwaukee played St. Louis.The 27-year-old right-hander had been pitching with a damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow since 2014, when he was pitching for the Texas Rangers. He has been sidelined since March 17, when he experienced discomfort in his elbow while pitching in a spring training game.Knebel was 4-3 with 16 saves and a 3.58 ERA in 57 games last season. He was outstanding in the playoffs, pitching nine games with a 0.90 ERA in 10 innings as the Brewers relied on a dominant bullpen to come within one win of the World Series.Knebel had 39 saves and was a 2017 NL All-Star.“It happened five years ago and now it’s just gotten a little worse,” Knebel said. “I don’t want it to really hurt me in the long run. Right now, I’m 27. I think it’s better to do it now than wait until later.”The decision was left up to Knebel and he said it was a tough one, but he opted for the surgery rather than trying to rehab the injury and possibly being out a longer time or not knowing if the pain would return.Orthopedist Neal ElAttrache will perform the surgery on Wednesday.“I’ve had the information now for a week and I couldn’t just decide right away,” Knebel said. “I hated that it was my decision. I really wish the doctor would have told me, ‘Here’s what we’re doing.’“As much as I want to pitch, it’s going to be tough to just watch,” he said.The Brewers beat St. Louis 5-4 Thursday in a season opener.Knebel said he would not be with the team this season but instead begin the healing process at the Brewers’ training complex in Maryvale, Arizona.“I’ve been reading a lot about everything and the success rate of Tommy John is very good,” Knebel said.Knebel said he felt comfortable using ElAttrache, who did surgery on Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson last season.“He did a great job with Jimmy’s shoulder,” Knebel said.Brewers manager Craig Counsell said he already knew Knebel would be out for an extended period, so the news did not change the team’s bullpen plans.“We fully support him making that decision,” Counsell said. “Either way it was going to be a significant injury.”Lefty Josh Hader remains a late-inning force for the Brewers http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , and he earned a two-inning save against the Cardinals in the opener.Counsell said all eight of his relievers could close a game and he would not designate one or two pitchers for the role.Right-handed reliever Jeremy Jeffress is out with a right shoulder injury but is expected to return next month.Counsell said Jeffress would pitch a spring training game on Saturday and would be on schedule to pitch in Arizona every three days.“That takes him to when the Triple-A season starts,” said Counsell, who indicated Jeffress would pitch for San Antonio next Friday.Nelson, one of the Brewers’ top starting pitchers, is making progress in Arizona and should throw a bullpen session early next week, Counsell said. He is expected to pitch once or twice more in Arizona before joining Triple-A San Antonio.“He does have to pile up some innings, just health and learning about himself,” Counsell said.Nelson was injured while diving into first base in a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in 2017, and he missed all of the 2018 season. GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Clayton Kershaw has not yet been ruled out for opening day by the Los Angeles Dodgers despite all the time he’s missed at spring training with a sore left shoulder.Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that, for now at least, Kershaw remains scheduled to start March 28 for the two-time defending NL champions even though it seems unlikely based on the progress the three-time Cy Young Award winner would need to make in the next few weeks.“I don’t think we’ve made that decision yet and I know that Honey (pitching coach Rick Honeycutt) has mapped out where we need to be, so right now we’re not ready to make that decision,” Roberts said. “We’re just right now in a day-to-day with Clayton and trying to keep him in a positive state of mind.”Kershaw played catch with teammate Rich Hill on Tuesday’s off day and lined up down the right-field line with fellow pitchers Wednesday as several played catch. Kershaw’s partner was bullpen catcher Steve Cilladi.Although Cilladi did not crouch, Kershaw went into his unique windup before several throws, raising his hands over his head and pausing his leg in mid-motion. Kershaw repeatedly backed up, eventually throwing from more than 75 feet Lance McCullers Jersey , before moving closer to Cilladi and increasing the velocity on his throws.Afterward, he flashed a thumbs-up to an observer and gave Cilladi a fist bump.Prior to the afternoon throwing session, Roberts said: “The distance is increasing a little bit and most importantly, the intensity. So, for him to ramp up that intensity and recover the next day and still feel good, that’s a good thing for us.”As for when Kershaw will throw off a mound, Roberts said: “We’ll know more each day. We don’t have a day right now.”CATCHING ONAfter several days of practice and Cactus League inactivity because of a sore lower back, veteran catcher Russell Martin started hitting and caught Walker Buehler’s bullpen.“Today is the first day I took some swings and I just got done, so it felt pretty good,” Martin said. “Obviously, it wasn’t max effort, but it was definitely positive.”Martin progressed from dry swings to hitting off a tee to soft toss.“So far, so good,” he said. “We are taking it slow and trying to be smart about it.”Martin’s training room treatment has consisted of stretching, strengthening and “getting some range of motion and strength in that new-found range of motion, and hopefully, that will keep me on the field Mike Scott Jersey ,” he said.Roberts said: “It is kind of a day-to-day thing — depending on how Russell feels and the training staff — whether we get him some at-bats on the other side (in minor league games) or just jump him right in and DH or just kind of throw him in the fire. Russell, as a veteran player, knows exactly what he needs to do to get ready, so even a week down, I don’t think it will impact him too much.”NOTES: Buehler has not appeared in a Cactus League game. Roberts said the right-hander is likely to throw live to hitters on Saturday or Sunday. … SS Corey Seager, completing his recovery from Tommy John surgery on May 4 and arthroscopic hip surgery on Aug. 7, was not in camp because of “a little kind of a sickness, a little bug,” according to Roberts. Because of that, Seager’s planned appearance in a minor league game Thursday is doubtful. … Roberts and his staff will start to make cuts in the coming days, sending players to the minor league side. Position players will start to play in back-to-back Cactus League games, and starting pitchers will begin to throw increased innings in those games. … The Dodgers optioned LHP Adam McCreery and reassigned LHP Josh Smoker and RHPs Joe Broussard, Daniel Corcino and Jesen Therrien to minor league camp.