The Mendy Knott Trade
Anytime a legit Cy Young candidate is traded it is front page news. The Mendy Knott trade was no different. Yesterday Knott (28) was moved to Nashville for top prospect Carl Blue (20). Pittsburgh decided it was time to move their best asset and add an everyday player for the future. Knott, the former all star will be a free agent at the end of the year and few know what his intentions are. When specifically asked about his plans Knott replied “We’ll see what happens, I’ve never been a free agent before but Nashville is a great place to play. I haven’t made any decisions about the summer yet, I’m just excited to jump on a plane and meet my new teammates and help them win another championship.” The trade does give Nashville options. Knott remains in the prime of his career and could fetch quite the lucrative contract on the open market this summer. If he was to test the free agent market of course Nashville would receive top compensation and use those picks to help rebuild the minors. Knott’s addition adds to Nashville’s already star studded rotation. The staff which includes Fred Buckley, Todd Dodd, Timo Redman, Rafael Viriato and Omar Gonzales has under performed so far this year. The team’s ERA is 4.54 which puts them at 15th in the majors. Nashville (39-23) now without question boasts the best pitching staff in baseball as future ace Omar Gonzales has been relegated to the pen with the addition of Knott. When Nashville G.M. Hart was asked about his plans with Knott he kept his answer short and basically stated that he would see what happens and that nothing was written in stone. Pittsburgh had been fielding a lot of calls for Knott when they decided to make Knott available to all bidders. In return Pittsburgh gets Nashville’s top prospect. Blue is an OF who was taken 19th overall in season three’s amateur draft. Blue was pleased about the trade, “I’m looking forward to going it’s a great opportunity and in all likelihood I’ll be able to play in the majors a lot sooner and that’s my number one goal.” Pittsburgh (15-47) loses their best pitcher by far and their current team ERA 9.10, worst in the majors could in all likelihood get even worse. In Blue they add an everyday player that could become a very good leadoff hitter and a legit threat on the base paths. Knott’s future may be uncertain but Nashville could care less right now as they just added a premier ace for the stretch drive.
